Mrs Bertie's Algebra Class
by Golden Snowflake
Summary: If another world suddenly appeared before you- if it opened its arms and invited you in -what would you do? Would you be too afraid to leave everything behind, or would you jump in without looking back?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Mira**

-xXxXx-

**M**y life can be summed up in one word:

BOOOOORING.

"Mrs. Bertie?"

Mrs. Bertie didn't answer. He tried again.

"Excuse me," he waved his hand. "Mrs. Bertie…"

"I'm not answering any questions without raised hands; you all know that by now."

The whole class said it like we'd rehearsed it: "HIS HAND _IS_ UP!"

"It's _been_ up," somebody added.

Finally Mrs. Bertie turned around. She leaned forward and gave him an annoyed look. "_What,_ James?"

"I don't get it." I covered my grin with my hand at our teacher's face.

"Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Uh…" he blinked his wide blue eyes. "…not really."

"Well, unless you tell me what you don't get I can't explain it."

"The whole thing!" he insisted.

"I can't help you then if you're just going to be ignorant."

He put his hand back down. I watched him in a mix of sympathy and amusement.

Now, I realize that no teacher is perfect. They're human, just like the rest of us. Good days and bad days. Then again, however, there are other cases like Mrs. Bertie here. She just shouldn't be a teacher. She's the absolute _worst_ math teacher I've ever had. She swiveled her head and her curly brown hair bounced as she shifted her cynical stare to Anna. Anna's sweet but pathetically disorganized, and was currently twisted around and leaning over Andre's desk, helping him with an algebra problem.

"Anna, sit down please."

"Oh, sorry, I was just-"

"You were just sitting down. Now get to it."

With a flustered sigh she turned back around just as a pile of her crumpled-up papers fell on her lap and the floor. A couple people laughed and a girl named Katherine leaned down and picked up her pencil. She thanked Katherine softly and caught my eye. I shot her an understanding smile and she returned it gratefully.

"Now, then, in this problem, seven equals x. So if 2x plus 5 equals y, how do we find the value for y?"

"Mrs. Bertie?" It was Jonah this time.

"_Yes_?" She sounded like a balloon might if it could speak and was about to pop.

Although he sits ahead and to the right of me I could feel his grin before he spoke.

"I don't get it."

Suddenly a deafening CRASH shook the building - hard. Katherine and Anna both screamed, and two of the five Andrews shouted. I winced as rubble tumbled down from the ceiling. One of the popular guys jumped up and shouted, "What the hell was that?"

I took a second to use the air I'd just collected gasping in shock to blow, and I could feel plumes of dust blasting my face as I cleared my space enough to open my eyes. Paint chippings scampered down the cheap brick walls and plaster chunks clattered to the floor and on the desks. It was snowy outside, but it seemed _warmer_.

The wheezy hack of Mrs. Bertie ruined the moment of awe. "Everyone get up and go outside," she shouted.

"What?" James's voice was indignant - sounding, but I caught the frightened undertone. "Why?"

"GO!"

Everybody scrambled to their feet, several taking the time to yank MP3s from their bags or zip - up binders. I waited a moment longer, though, as they began to shuffle out, the few girls squeezing out the doorway first and the boys hanging back. The teacher coughed ungracefully and pushed through herself. An ear - splitting crack split the ceiling and it bent downward a meter or more. They started pushing more frantically, shouting, cursing, and shoving as another shower of debris rained down, this time including shelved books and a few renegade bricks. In a moment they were all out and pounding down the steps.

All but me, of course.

"What _is_ that?" I was frozen with wonder. The ceiling wasn't just _gone_… there was something poking through the corner of the room. Something huge and metallic - looking. It almost looked like a ship of some sort. It screeched against the resisting walls and suddenly bore forward another five feet in less than a second. I shouted and leapt back.

"Hey!" I looked over my shoulder and through the shattered window behind me. The shattered window… the glass - cuts all over my hands and the back of my neck began to burn as I noticed it. That wasn't what held my attention, though. What I fixed in my stare was a blonde boy peering inside. "What's your name?"

"…the heck?" I muttered to myself. "Mira!"

His eyes lit up. "That's it! Com'ere!"

"What? Who are you?"

"You're gonna get squished by our ship if you don't!"

Well, he had a point. I glanced back at the demolished classroom a final time before climbing on the table pushed up against the wall and carefully kicking the shards of glass out. I leaned out to see kids scattering everywhere; screeching fifth - graders barreling for the road and bewildered high - schoolers coming out from across the field to see what had happened. He grabbed my arm and I leapt out, landing awkwardly in his lap. He blinked at me. "You okay?"

"I don't know," I wailed in exasperation. "How are we-" I looked down and realized in amazement that we were on a motorcycle. But, like, a _flying_ motorcycle. He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and I scrambled back behind him, death - gripping his shoulders. "Is this thing your fault?"

"Not exactly. Sorry about your school!" He pulled sharply back from the window and I jumped and leaned against him, pressing my legs against the side panels of his bike as I looked thirty feet down at the ground below.

"That's okay," I shouted, "I didn't like it much anyway."

"Sorry I can't explain everything, Mira! Will you come with me?"

This kid just crashed an enormous spaceship into my algebra room, nearly killed my classmates, and yanked me out the window on a floating bike. If I did go for some insane reason, chances were that I'd never see my family or home again. He was probably going to kidnap me and take me to some other planet where I'd die of diseases my immune system didn't know how to defend against. I knew immediately that my life would change forever; no more deadbeat dad calling to say he had an appointment and couldn't pick me up while his fiancée laughed drunkenly in the background, no more cheerleaders calling me anorexic because I'm skinny or emo because of my dark makeup, no more feeling guilty about costing my aunt tens of thousands of dollars for clothes, food, and insurance every year… wait…

"Sure!" I agreed.

He shot upward and I squeaked, grabbing him around the waist and holding my breath as my stomach flipped. He pulled up over the ship and toward an opening near the top. It was huge; utterly, incomprehensibly huge. He accelerated and we sped inside, wind blowing my hair back and making me squint. In two seconds he'd skidded to a halt in the big entrance room filled with other bikes. For a minute I thought I was going to scream, faint, or scream and _then_ faint. I did none of the three.

"You get her?" Another guy, this one with red hair and bright green eyes, shot into the room from a doorway nearby. Her who? Me?

"Yep." The blonde guy craned his neck around and gave me a satisfied look. "You okay?"

"Geh- yeah," I responded hastily, swallowing the vomit in my throat. My legs were still shaky and I wasn't ready to get up.

"What's the matter," he asked as the redhead walked up, "never ride a skimmer before?"

I laughed weakly. "Nope. I've never seen one before either."

"What?" His sky - blue eyes widened in disbelief. "What-the-heck rock have _you_ been living under?"

"Westview Middle School," I answered dryly.

"Mira, I'm sorry we wrecked your school." This was the boy with the intelligent green eyes. He knelt down and smiled at me. I immediately trusted something in them and realized I was smiling back. He extended a gloved hand and I took it as my stomach tightened up again. "I'm Aerrow," he said as he shook it gently. "We can explain more to you later when you want us to, but for now you need to know that here you're in danger. We need you to come with us back to Atmosia. So would you?"

Normally in such a ridiculously sci-fi-like situation you wouldn't have the choice, but he was absolutely sincere. If I'd been sensible enough to say no, I'd've been back on the ground (with the screaming fifth - graders) in another minute. I nodded my consent and he released my hand. It was tingling as I took it shakily back. He rose and strode back to the doorway he'd come from.

"Stork! Take us up!"

_Beam me up, Scottie,_ I thought, and almost grinned as the ship lifted into the air and straightened before moving upward and forward.

"I'm Finn, by the way." My chauffer turned around a bit and gave me a flirtatious smile. I took my other hand off his stomach and grinned as I sat up straight. "Sharpshooter, wingman, and knight in shining armor, at your service."

I could only smile. Anybody who interrupted Mrs. Bertie's aimless algebraic ramblings was a potential boyfriend to me.

"Since you're officially our spontaneous-guest-of-honor, would you like a tour of the Condor?"

"Finn, give her a chance to breathe!" The scolding came from another figure now moving into the room. As she strode in I was floored. She was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen; prettier than even our junior high's resident debutantes. Her skin was dark and her hair was bluish-black like an Indian's. Her eyes, though, were a radiant amber. Whether they were contacts or not I wasn't certain. She was petite and probably about my age. With a kind smile she stopped a few feet away. "I'm Piper. You've already met the resident moron, I see."

The resident moron shot her a dirty look.

"You can sit down on the bridge if you want, Mira."

"Thanks," I wheezed, climbing up from the 'skimmer' and following her to that doorway. She shot Finn a displeased look, and once she'd turned back I flashed him a quick smile. He cocked an eyebrow cutely before disappearing as I walked down the hallway.

"Here." Piper ushered me toward a tattered sofa in what was the main room, its curved front wall a pane of (hopefully thick) glass. The redhead (Antefix… Antelope… Aerrow! That was it!) was pacing slowly, offering a warm glance as I perched on one of the old cushions. I rested my head in my hands, staring up at the sky, clouds dissipating and vanishing as the ship passed through them on its trek skyward. She sat down next to me and gave me a worried look. "You okay?" I nodded, drawing in a deep breath. It wasn't until that moment the helmsman glared at me over his shoulder. I blinked in surprise. He had green skin, as green as pine needles, and round yellow kitten - eyes. The right of his two pointed ears had two silver hoops in it, and he was slouched depressingly over.

"This is the girl we heard about on the transmission we intercepted," Aerrow explained at the green boy's hapless expression. I looked away to watch Aerrow, since this was news to me too. The helmsman made a nonplussed grunt and turned back to piloting the great vessel.

"That's Stork," Piper informed me while gesturing at the grumpy green kid. She put her chin on her open palm and shrugged. "He'll warm up to you."

I nodded and closed my eyes, listening to my heart pounding in my chest. This was all so stressful… my head ached and my ears rung from the crash. Little pricks where the glass from the broken windows had settled throbbed with my heartbeat. I could feel blood coming from a few of them on the back of my neck. "Ouch," I muttered as I rubbed my forehead with my cold fingertips.

"What?" Piper scooted over and parted my hair in the back. She must've made a face, because Aerrow looked at her and made a face. _I_ must've made a face after seeing _his_ face because Piper uttered a reassuring "It's not that bad; just a few pieces," before getting up and walking off somewhere.

"How did you get hurt?" Aerrow walked cautiously up and I leaned over to let him see. I noted silently that he smelled good.

"The weight of the ship hitting made some of the back windows break," I explained. The pieces lodged in my skin hurt more now that I was paying attention to them. His gloved hands lightly brushed my neck and pulled the back of by shirt down as he inspected the minor damage. He sucked in air and I could tell he was cringing. "Is it bad?" I asked in a whisper. Being a girl myself, I knew Piper would play things down to make me feel better.

"Hold on," he replied in the same strained voice. "I think I can get this one out."

"Be careful," I muttered through clenched teeth. I trusted him, though, more than I'd trusted anyone in a long time. With one hand he lightly held my back in place, and suddenly I could feel the little piece of glass stuck in my skin to the right of my neck. His finger and thumb brushed my skin once and I thought he'd gotten it out, but as soon as I opened my mouth to ask he yanked it and I yelled in shock. "OUCH!"

"Aerrow!" Piper's footsteps returned behind me. She didn't sound happy about his little medical excursion. "Don't do that, you need tweezers and disinfectant!"

"Sorry, sorry!" He knelt down and held his hand up. "…I got it out, though."

Blinking, I raised my head. "You did? Oooh!" I peered at the shiny red window - shard in fascination only matched by his own. Stinging antibiotics hit the little empty spot and I yowled again, making Stork jump and flatten his ears in embarrassment.

"Hold on," she chided, dabbing at me with a cotton swab. "There are quite a few, but…"

"No, don't tell me," I interrupted with a wave of my hands. "I don't want to know." I turned my gaze back to Aerrow, one knee on the ground and his empty hand rested on the other. "If it's not a problem, though, I'd like to know why I'm here."

The boy's leafy-green eyes flicked over my face for a moment before he rose and began to pace. "If you didn't even know what a skimmer was, then… I don't even know where to start." He paused in thought and I flinched as a big splinter came out. "We're the Storm Hawks. I'm Aerrow, sky knight of the Storm Hawks."

"Sky knight?" I felt ignorant.

"Each terra- each of the inhabited terras -has a squadron led by a sky knight. That team protects that terra. Long ago that system was formed…" he trailed off to once again collect his thoughts. "Before the sky knights, Cyclonia, an empire that rules with torture and oppression, controlled all of the Atmos. We were formed to stop them. My father was the leader of the legendary Storm Hawks until he… until he was betrayed and killed by his closest friend and strongest teammate." Stork glanced at him. "The Dark Ace is now Cyclonia's champion, the highest under Master Cyclonis herself. Since we're not official, we have no one terra to protect. We travel across the Atmos and help the resistance wherever we're needed."

A losing battle. I knew the resistance probably wasn't like one side of a war; more likely thinly - strung soldiers after a bloody fight ends. I could see the hurt in his eyes and pursed my lips. "I think I see. Sky knights versus Cyclonia. You versus the Dark Ace. So we're going back to your world? Atmos?"

"What?" He turned and looked at me in pure bewilderment.

"Atmos and the terras?"

"Mira," murmured Piper over my shoulder, "you live on one."

-xXxXx-

"**W**hat? No I don't! I live on Earth, Earth as in the planet Earth, in the Milky Way galaxy, in this world here. No terras, no skimmers, no green slouchy guys. Just strippers, corrupt politicians, and drug dealers. There's evil, but no good guys fighting for freedom. I've traveled to other states and other countries hundreds of miles away. They're all real." I stared at the sky knight, anxiously awaiting a reply.

After a long moment, the pilot with the moss - green skin spoke. "The place where we found you is Terra Reveria, a prison for captured squadrons. It's been under Cyclonian control for as long as we can remember. The thick cloud cover made it possible for the scientists to create an environment in which all traces of the conflict were virtually invisible and undetectable to the people there. You're not on their side, but they managed to remove you from the fight completely. They left you to fend for yourselves and even created the illusion of space outside your… 'planet.' Although I hear that anyone under its spell is infected with a horrifying, incurable rash from birth."

"No." You'd expect me to completely reject the story presented to me, and that was what my brain was instructing me to do. Yet something deep in the pit of my stomach caused me to fear that this was completely true. No good guys and all evil? That explained how corrupt the "world" became. Aliens and outer contact? Or simply those unable to reach us? The part of me indignantly arguing it suddenly seemed very distant. This was no dream. I was bleeding and my heart was beating and the cold, coppery scent of the ship filled my lungs with every breath. Something deep within me knew that, somehow or other, this was all real.

"So everything I've ever known has been… faked? My whole life has been some kind of simulation? My country is nothing but holograms?" I was beginning to feel sick again.

"Oh, no, far more sophisticated than that," muttered Stork. "Their researchers used newly - developed methods to create not only realistic visual effects, but audio as well. It took them years to determine what crystals to use. They supposedly found ways to make things seem… even _more_ realistic than they really are."

"More realistic?" I echoed, looking down at my hands. They were, indeed, different. My skin has always been fragile and almost papery. Now the sickly sheen they always had was gone. Aerrow stopped pacing and fixed me with a worried look.

"Mira, listen. I know this is a lot to take in at once, but you've got to believe us. We intercepted a Cyclonian transmission three days ago and it was about you. You write books, right?" I nodded. "Well that's where the problem is. We think they want to use your abilities to write propaganda convincing people that they're the heroes."

"Am I really that good?" I asked cynically as Piper plucked a particularly large piece out of the back of my neck.

"Yeah."

"What would happen if I didn't comply?"

The pilot chimed in with, "They'd torture you to a bloody pulp." He glanced at me and his eye twitched.

A large crash shook the ship- the Condor -and both Stork and I jumped this time.

"What was that?" I yelled, envisioning fighter jets attacking the ship with missiles and rocket-launchers. But Stork's mutter of irritation and the sky knight's embarrassed cringe calmed me down. I received a prompt answer to the question as shouts sounded down the hall.

"Where? Where is she?"

"In the bridge!"

"Oh, goodie! Can I meet her?"

"Yeah, come on!"

"Finn!" In a softer voice: "She's not mean, is she?"

"Mean?" A snort of laughter. "She's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

"Yeay!"

The two came racing onto the bridge. The first was Finn, grinning and sauntering over. Aerrow watched him with the affection of a brother as he plopped down on my left. The second was a huge creature with dark skin and darker splotches all over it. A shock of unkempt grayish hair fluffed around his head, and he had what looked like a rhino's horn on the tip of his nose. I was immediately intimidated, so his shy smile startled me.

"H-hi."

I smiled warmly. "Hi. I'm Mira. -I guess you know that, though."

"I'm Junko." He plodded up and held his hand out nervously, staring at me with wide eyes. I shook it firmly, mine tiny in his inhumanly large one, and he seemed to relax a bit. "I'm a wallop."

"The strongest, toughest wallop in the Atmos," Finn added from beside me. "What're you doing, Piper?" I remembered to hold still and faced forward, now staring at strange, green objects that I realized were Stork's feet.

"The windows shattered when the Condor hit her school," the petite girl explained behind me.

"So that's… glass?"

She plucked a piece out and it made a popping noise. He cringed the same way Aerrow had and I smiled. It was funny. It wasn't funny when the stinging disinfectant filled the little hole. "Ouch!"

"Sorry," she said quickly.

"It's okay, it's okay," I assured, watching Junko wince out of the corner of my eye. "So how's it going back there?"

"She's gettin' there," announced Finn, peering at her work. "About… halfway done?" He looked up at her for an answer, then added a "Yep. Halfway done." Something fluffy and blue skittered out from underneath the couch and froze when it saw me.

"Uh… hi."

I didn't want to scare it, and it looked pretty scared. I waited for a hasty introduction from somebody, but when everyone was too busy waiting to see what would happen, I closed my eyes a little and smiled at it. "I'm Mira. It's nice to meet you."

When I carefully extended my finger, the little creature sniffed it suspiciously before looking up at me again. I cautiously lifted my hand and scratched behind one of it's long ears. For a minute it looked appalled, then bewildered, neutral and then pleased. It gave a happy chirp before leaping into my lap. Finn and Junko laughed, and Aerrow commented with, "Wow, Radarr, you've never been so welcoming to a stranger before." He put his little hands on my shoulders and licked my nose, and then Aerrow laughed too.

"Radarr? That's a cute name. A _cool_ name, rather," I corrected at his look of condescension. "He's smart, isn't he?"

"He's our mission specialist," said Aerrow, sounding both amused and proud.

"I feel so welcome here!" I exclaimed. Back at my school, (yeah, five minutes ago,) nobody really liked me. I honestly had about three friends. Nobody liked them either. My _dad_ didn't even like me. Neither did my neighbors. They thought I stole their kid's hidden Easter basket one year.

"You _are_ welcome here." That was Finn. I looked at Radarr and the little guy clicked in agreement.

"But what are you going to _do_ with me? Do you … keep me as a pet until you know Cyclonia isn't looking for me?"

"We fight to keep you out of Cyclonia's clutches. Then we find somewhere you'll be safe." His emerald eyes darted around for a minute before meeting mine. He chewed on his lip as I opened my mouth to speak and changed my mind.

Finally I tried again. "So I'm never going back to my home? …Terra Reveria?"

There was a long moment in which nothing was said. Piper even slowed in her glass - plucking. Finally the sky knight murmured softly, "We assumed you wouldn't want to go back."

"I…" I swallowed and thought hard for a minute. "I don't."

"Hey!" Junko seemed to have an idea. I turned my attention to him as Finn turned his attention to Piper's work and Aerrow looked at a bolt in the floor, flung into an endless train of thought by my last statement. "Mira, do you like snow?"

"Like it?" I wondered where the heck he was going with that. "I love it."

He turned his attention to Piper. "Where's the place the Blizzarians moved to?"

"Terra Nord?" Piper offered.

"They _are_ protected by a sky knight," Finn agreed. "Two if you include the Absolute Zeroes."

"She'll be killed by an avalanche," Stork put in.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," the sky knight chided. "For now we're just going to keep Mira with us. Maybe the Cyclonians won't even figure out the crystal - created atmosphere had been breeched."

"Sure," the pilot retorted. "The scientists on Reveria are going to figure out that we came from somewhere not located in their little fantasy world and soon they'll be pouring out our little rip we made. But no sweat; the Cyclonians will _never_ notice the six billion disoriented, heart-diseased, cancer-ridden people wandering around." He shrugged. "It's just like an extra butterfly."

Finn and I exchanged glances.

"Almost done," said the dark-skinned girl. I rubbed my forehead again.

"Are you okay, Mira?" asked Junko.

"I don't know," I wailed. "I just can't believe this is happening…"

-xXxXx-

**O**ur footsteps echoed down the hall as the petite, dark-haired girl led me to what would be my quarters. We'd covered everything from toothbrushes to clothing to shampoo to feminine items, and I felt confident that I wouldn't be in a metaphorical pickle anytime soon. In fact, it seemed that Piper had prepared for my arrival even more efficiently than most people would for a sleepover; even kept guard as I got a shower and then washed my clothes for me. For that I was eternally grateful.

"Are you sure you don't want supper?" This was her third time asking me.

"I couldn't eat if you paid me to," I replied. "Not yet."

"Just nerves? You're not sick?"

"I don't think so," I replied. "I promise I'll be fine tomorrow."

"You sure?" She cast me a glance, and genuine concern shone in her gold eyes. I smiled and nodded. Her soft steps ceased and she held a palm out. "Here it is, then."

I was about to say something witty like '_where_ it is?' when the wall split in two and either side swooshed back to reveal a lilac-colored room. I bit back a Captain Kirk quote and walked inside.

"Is this a guest room?"

"Actually, it was for someone else," she explained from the doorway. "We've been hoping she'll join our team. She declined."

"Aww, really?" She nodded, making a disappointed face, and I was relieved that she seemed to be feigning it and not really upset. "Who was it?"

"Starling of the Interceptors," she replied, a wistful look filling her eyes. "She's legendary. The rest of her squadron was killed by raptors. -a lizard-like race that see sky knights as appetizers." Her gruesome analogy caused horrific pictures of such monsters to bloom in my mind. I blinked them away. "She's helped us on missions before, actually. A few here and there. She's my idol."

"Then I hope I get to meet her." As she nodded and smiled, I knew I'd said the right thing. And in fact, I _did_ want to meet Starling. She sounded awesome. "Oh, thank you, Piper. It's so nice to be accepted for a change." I eclipsed her in a hug and she returned it.

"You're very welcome," she replied. She pulled back and I immediately knew I had found a sister in her.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, as long as I don't forget I'm not at home and sleepwalk off the ship." She giggled.

"Goodnight, then." I waved.

"'Night!"

With a sigh I turned back to my bed. I'd traded my jeans for an old pair of Aerrow's pajama pants, which I kept glancing down at. I felt as if my lower half was somewhere it shouldn't be. Besides that, though, my purple hooded sweatshirt, my black t-shirt beneath, and my freshly-washed underwear (with kitties on the waistband!) had gone back where they'd been before. With a sigh I took my hoodie off (while being careful not to peel the bandages off my shoulders) and draped it over the bedpost, laying back on my … Starling's … THE … bed. I was beyond overwhelmed, and the least I could do for my well - being was to take a nap.

So it was rather odd when, an hour later, I wasn't any closer to unconsciousness. Long after the Condor had grown quiet, my mind still swam with thoughts far too persistent for me to hush. Through all the stress, I couldn't even remember who'd been raising their hand when the otherworldly ship collided with our roof. I was laying on my bed, gazing at the ceiling when I heard something. A tapping sound; what I realized was one of the pipes. Half a dozen times today I intentionally did myself harm to see if I would wake up, but how hard sleep was made me sure it wasn't a dream.

_Tap-tap-tap _go the pipes as I close my eyes and scowl at how noisy they are.

But I began to wonder when I heard it again.

_That wasn't a pipe… _

Sitting up, I stared at the door.

Tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

"What on earth?"

With a scoff I got up, pulled my hoodie on over my t-shirt, and pushed the button to open my door. I stuck my head out in the hallway to see a flash of something disappearing down the hall. Grumbling, I pulled my socks on and walked out.

The Condor was gorgeous at night. Moonlight bounced off the metallic floors all the way from the bridge- which was, in fact, where I'd seen a glimpse of something a second before. Did Radarr run around when everybody went to sleep? I walked down the hall, mesmerized by the starry ambience, and looked into the blackness of a doorway.

"Hello?" Goosebumps ran up my arms. It was really dark in there. Then to myself, I muttered, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. One night in another universe and you get paranoid."

Just as I said it a shadow passed by the doorway on the other side of the room. I darted over, grabbing the door frame to keep from slipping on the tile floor, and swung around to look out.

"Okay, I saw you that time," I whispered nervously. "If you're a monster, just eat me now! I'm full of calcium since I drink a lot of milk."

If it was amused, it didn't show it. When I counted to ten and didn't see any movement I took a few tentative steps and relaxed. Maybe it _was_ the piping, I thought…

Right before a pillow hit me squarely in the back of the head. I gasped and whirled around to find the hall totally still. Bending down to address it, I whispered, "Don't eat me."

The pillow didn't respond.

Picking my weapon up, I hit it hard with one fist. Who or whatever was messing with me was going to get it. Then I paused and got an idea. Making sure nothing was looking, at least to my knowledge… I sniffed it. Now _why_ I sniff things I can't tell you. It's just a habit. And it smelled like sleep - big surprise there - but it was nice at the same time.

As I started forward, I looked carefully into the dark rooms on either side, their doors parting automatically with my approach. _Nobody there … that looks like a storage room … nobody there … that looks like a living room …_

So of course as I passed the living room I got hit with another pillow.

Turning around, I stormed in and jumped up on the couch. Crouched behind it was Finn, his bright blue eyes wide with surprise. I punched my pillow and held it up, ready to bring it down on his face.

"Don't hurt me!" he squeaked. "Hey, come here." With that he jumped up and ran back out. I dropped my ammunition and hurried after him.

"What? Why? Finn? Where'd you go?"

"In here! Come on!"

With a sigh I went toward the sound of his voice. He had his head stuffed in one of the cupboards when I entered. Rubbing at the ache in my forehead I took a tentative step around the island in the middle of the room - the kitchen, apparently. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a snack," he responded, not missing a beat.

"Oh, so ya wake _me_ up to watch you get fat?"

He gave me a curious look before going back to rummaging through the cupboards. "You weren't asleep anyway. Do you like chocolate?"

"No."

"Me neither." He took a pale crinkly bag out of one of the shelves, knocking a can out. He caught it without sparing it a glance. I stared in surprise. He turned and came back over to the counter, pulling out what looked like candy and popping one in his mouth. "Cough drops," he said, and a plume of invisible cherry smoke hit my face. Apparently the people out here don't know how to make lozenges smell less offensive either. "Piper says I eat them like candy."

"Do you?"

"Well, no. I mean, yeah, I guess I do-" he paused, closed his mouth, and it clacked against his white teeth. "-but it's because my throat hurts all the time." I rested my head in my hands and watched him in fascination. His hand slipped back in the little bag and he pulled another out. "You want one?"

"Sure." Our fingers brushed as I took it from him, and his gaze faltered for a moment. I tried not to smile as I popped it in my mouth. Immediately my sinuses cleared and I felt awake.

Well… even _more_ awake, I guess.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you guys. It feels good to be acknowledged for a change."

"Acknowledged?" The cough drop he had balanced on his head fell off and he caught it with the same precision as before. "We're like your professional bodyguards now."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." His blue eyes were wide and sincere, and he reminded me of the little cat I'd left at home. His openness prompted me to ask another question.

"So are we friends now?"

Abruptly pushing back from the counter, he grabbed the bag of lozenges and tossed it back in the cupboard. I watched him stalk quickly back out into the hall. _Splendid_, I thought wryly. _I offended him already._ Sighing worriedly I padded back out to see him disappearing into the room with the couch. I wordlessly picked my way through the streams of moonlight and reluctantly walked in.

The pillow from before smacked me in the face.

I snagged it before it hit my feet. "You are SO dead." I dove at him and he ran around the rundown sofa, around a chair, and I almost cornered him before he pushed off the wall and skidded in his socks out the door. I came out and yelled in shock as he whacked me with the pillow left lying in the hallway, blocking with my own and hitting him in the stomach. He grunted and stepped back, leaving me to race the other way down the hall. Not knowing which way to go, I glanced at several rooms as I raced past them. It was too dark to know if I'd run headlong into a bookcase or something, so it was a risk that I ducked into one that seemed particularly cluttered. I slid under what looked something like an old desk that turned out to be a big piece of sheet metal when my nails hit it. Yanking my pillow under with me, I crawled beneath it and found myself face-to-face with a stack of huge pipes. Extras, I assumed. The sharpshooter's sock-coated footsteps were accelerating down the hall, so I scrambled inside one as quietly as I could, ducking into the darkest of shadow in the back of it. Stifling a grin at how immature I was being, I put the pillow on top of me and curled up beneath it.

"Mira?" His hushed, nasally voice had risen with bewilderment. "Where'd you go?" But I didn't make a sound, opening my mouth to draw in air more quietly. Unfortunately, my cough drop took the opportunity to tumble out, clattering with a marble-like sound to the bottom of the pipe.

"Oh, shoot!" I squeezed under the pillow and squeezed my eyes shut too.

"Ha! I hear you!" To my dismay he entered the right room on the first try. I guess the whole bow-and-arrow routine makes his senses sharper, for he was scooting in the opposite end of the pipe a moment later. He clambered back and came to a stop, his baggy pajama pants swooshing as he pulled himself into a cross-legged position. There was a big _floof_ as he poked the pillow. "Tee hee!"

"Nooo," I mumbled childishly. "You cheated."

"No I didn't," he exclaimed indignantly.

"Mleh." I stuck my tongue out as he lifted my fluffy barricade and grinned down at me. "You did too."

"Come on, let's get out of here. I don't like enclosed spaces."

"Neither did your brain, or it'd still be in your head."

"Hey!" He looked genuinely baffled at my wit. He then turned and clawed his way back out of the pipe and under the big piece of metal stuff. I heard clacking as I crawled back out and found him standing toward the door, and carefully avoided my eyes making contact with his butt as I watched him tap his foot on the floor. "What the-"

"Oops!" I realized what had happened before he did. "You know what that sound was when you found me?"

He looked over his shoulder at me. "What? -aww, man! Your cough drop!" I laughed as he muttered, shaking his leg to no avail. The little red candy stuck firmly to the heel of his patchy sock.

So naturally, our next stop was the laundry room.

Surprisingly enough, they had similar washing and drying machines to "Earth's." He dropped his socks in, and with a glare at me he led me back until we'd reached the bridge. The Condor was so big that if you'd quizzed me on everywhere we'd been, I would have given it back blank before trying and failing miserably. I realized with an excited start that I would never be taking any of Mrs. Bertie's algebra tests again and found myself overwhelmed with joy.

"I love this," I murmured, not caring that it didn't make much sense.

"Love what?" I didn't miss the nervousness that briefly flickered in his tone.

"This. The Condor. The Storm Hawks. The Atmos."

"You do realize that you don't know half of what you're saying, right?"

"Well, I know I've been living in my own little world for, like…" I paused. "…thirteen years, but if that one was a _bad_ example and I still tolerated it, I _know_ I can learn to love this one. Cuz' unlike mine, there's still hope in this one." I gave an expectant gaze at him, and as he leaned against the wall a thoughtful smile spread across his face. "Do you believe in God?"

"What?"

"God. Jesus-angely-heaveny God. Like, as in, oh, hoooooly niiiight, the stars are brightly shiiiiining-"

"Yes, yes! We believe in God!" My shoulders drooped with relief. He then added, "But I think Stork's scared He's gonna hit 'im with a lightning bolt or something." At that I laughed. I just couldn't help it. Then, as suddenly as everything else seemed to be happening, a huge yawn stretched my mouth.

"You tired?" questioned the sharpshooter, a bit of fondness in his voice.

"Uh-huh."

I said it through a second, bigger yawn.

"Do you know where your room is?"

"Uh-uh."

I said it through a third yawn, even larger than the second.

"Come on." I finished that third yawn as I plodded after him, picking up the pillow he'd forgotten propped against the back wall. It was as I flanked him I realized that yes, I had known where my room was after all.

_I might get my sense of direction yet, _I thought dryly.

"Here we are. Where's my tip?"

"Here." I handed him the pillow. He scoffed and I shrugged.

"That's good enough for now, I guess. But you owe me."

Swallowing another yawn I stepped forward and the door swished open. "Nighty-night, then," I muttered, pulling my hoodie off and flopping face-first onto my bed. After a few seconds I called, "Show's over! Come back tomorrow!"

I heard an amused sniff and the door whooshed closed.

-xXxXx-

"**Y**ou were worried she wouldn't eat," mused Aerrow as Piper peered into the kitchen, holding a basket of clothes. He nodded toward me expectantly and she smiled as I glanced up at her before turning back to my salad.

"I've never _seen_ somebody eat so much lettuce," marveled the Wallop as I shoveled it down. Their lettuce tastes infinitely better than "Earth" lettuce- cleaner and crisper. So much enthusiasm towards vegetables still probably looked funny, though, since they've never had horrid McDonald's Caesar salads. I paused to stifle a burp and began picking the little orange things out. They're like carrots, but sweeter and juicier. I popped one in my mouth and one rolled away. Junko plucked it up between one of his three massive fingers and his one massive thumb and handed it back. I stuffed it in and went back to shoveling down lettuce as Stork stared at me in revulsion.

"Thank you so much," I mumbled for the umpteenth as I gulped down my mouthful of Atmosian veggies. "Your hospitality, your food…" I downed half my glass of water and added, "Oh, I was so hungry. Thank you."

"No problem," replied Junko, watching me in admiration as I stuffed the last of my lettuce in my mouth.

"You're very welcome," added the ebony - skinned girl before starting back down the hall with the load of laundry. Aerrow gave a smile and a nod before heading out as well.

"Junko?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I have a refill, please?"

"Sure!" He gave a rough but sweet smile and plodded over to the fridge saying, "as long as _you_ eat the salad, _we_ won't have to!"

"Very true," I murmured in agreement, shooting a smile at Stork. He gave me a cynical stare before looking the other way. With a hint of sarcasm, I added, "I'll eat anything green."

I turned back to my salad, and could feel his incredulous stare as I speared into my second helping of lettuce.

Just as I put my fork to my mouth, a huge crash knocked me off my seat. I yelped, catching myself on my hands and knees as salad rained down on me. Junko had stumbled and stork had leapt up as his chair skittered off against the wall.

"What was that?"

"An army of raptors here to tear us limb from limb."

"Probably just some turbulence."

Needless to say, I preferred Junko's answer. And as Piper came back in, she indeed looked more annoyed than frightened.

"Did you feel that?" exclaimed Finn, racing in at the same time. His eyes went from me covered in salad to Piper, who was giving him an accusing look.

"Finn? Why is our load of socks _pink_?"

"Wh-what do you mean? You think I'd purposely…" as he attempted to redeem himself I remembered the cough drop from last night. What I didn't recall was the removal of the cough drop before the sock went in the water. Oops. He finished his fib and she kept on yelling, waving a magenta sock in his face.

"This isn't funny, Finn! _I_ can wear these, but you're explaining this to Aerrow. I'm sure he's gonna _love_-" she was cut short by another fierce jolt that knocked her - and him and Stork - off their feet.

"Storm Hawks!" called Aerrow from the bridge. "We've got trouble!" Junko helped me to my feet and we scrambled to the front room. "Stork, back to the controls," ordered the redheaded leader. "We just got a distress signal from the Rex Guardians."

"What?" Demanded Finn in disbelief. "They came back after they got their butts kicked last time?"

Aerrow nodded. "For whatever reason, the Cyclonians are attacking Terra Rex. They caught everyone off guard and-"

"We've flown into the thick of it," finished Stork as he steered the ship downward. There was another crash; guttural, deep and directly below us. "Yeah. We're doomed."

"Finn and Junko, come with me. Piper, Mira and Stork, stay here and help lead them away from the terra." The three bolted for the hangar and Piper beckoned me over to her. She took a little hop and pulled what looked like some sort of long-distance binoculars down from their secured place above. I found another set above my head and followed suit, the metal and wires neatly unfolding as I pulled them down to my level.

"Take a peek," she instructed.

To my amazement, I could see a midair battle raging below us. I caught sight of somebody on a skimmer and instinctively turned in the direction he was going. The lens on the other end followed, and I watched the blonde pull two huge blades out of sheathes. It hurt my eyes when they flashed a bright yellow, but I was too fascinated to even blink. He leapt up on his seat and slashed out as he flew by another guy on another bike. Its engine sparked and the man on it leapt off as it spiraled toward the ground. A parachute popped out on his back and I sniffed in stifled amusement.

"The blondes with the gold armor are the Rex Guardians - Terra Rex's squadron."

"Got it. So the ones with the hideous green and brown outfits are Cyclonian soldiers?"

"Talons," she corrected. "And don't forget the weird orange goggles. Stork! On the left!"

"Got it." He pulled a few levers and switches at the helm and I watched a huge cannon pop out of the outer hull, blasting one of the approaching Talons to smithereens.

"That looked like it hurt," I observed, a little taken aback.

"It probably did! Two more on the upper right." I didn't turn my telescope to watch this time. Catching sight of the big blonde guy I watched him take out two more Cyclonians before saluting to someone- I looked in the direction he was facing and found Aerrow saluting back. I gaped as the sky knight flipped off his skimmer, landed on another, and knocked the guy off before diving back for his own.

"They're retreating," I observed, as a loud explosion made Stork jump and a screaming Talon catapulted past the window. I gaped at the sight as Piper smiled, peering through her binocular-thingies.

"She's right."

Finding Aerrow again, I was delighted when he waved and pointed at the ground.

"He's landing," I stated, hoping I had interpreted his signal correctly. "I think he wants us to land too."

"She's right again." I pulled back from the device to see Piper smiling, seeming impressed. I smiled back sheepishly as Stork gave a grunt and yanked one of the big, stubborn-looking levers and the Condor dipped downward.

-xXxXx-

"**O**nce again, we are in your debt." Harrier stepped forward and shook Aerrow's hand as I watched from our disorganized line. (As you might've guessed, Piper explained to me that he's their sky knight.)

"Just glad we could help out. Oh, and-" he turned around and I swallowed as I realized Aerrow was looking at me. "-there's someone new we'd like you to meet."

Okay, okay, my grandma always tells me I'm pretty, but nothing prepared me for the stares their squadron gave me. One guy even gaped.

"This is - where did you find her?" There was shock in his voice that fascinated me.

"Terra Reveria. We intercepted a Cyclonian transmission that said they… wanted… her?"

But Harrier wasn't listening. He'd come over to me, gazing at me in a mix of disbelief and admiration. "Mira?"

"That… happens to be my name…" I was shocked when he pulled me into an enormous hug. "Nice to meet you too," I wheezed.

"Uh-" Aerrow was as dumbfounded as I. "Do you two… _know_ each other?"

"Oh, Mira, you've no idea how worried I've been." He pulled back and his fingers skirted across my face. "My beloved sister."

* * *

This story is ancient. I started it sometime during either the summer after 8th grade or the summer after my freshman year of high school. I know, I know- Mira has a classic case of Mary-Sue-itus. This story changed me, though, and it's a journey I went through with my character. It will forever be a part of who I am. For my age at the time, I think it's pretty impressive.

Anyway, if you're not interested, no offense taken. And for anyone who wants to join the Storm Hawks on this journey, welcome! I hope you enjoy it.

XP


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Child of Legends**

-xXxXx-

**H**arrier didn't let me go the whole way back to the settled part of Terra Rex. His rather snobby air; his British-like accent … especially his strength when he kept stopping to hug me … all gradually began to feel comforting and distantly familiar. I seemed to be the only one he swayed, though, for Aerrow kept whispering to Junko as Radarr went from the shoulders of one to the other. Piper kept shrugging at me. And most noticeably- (at least to me) -every time the blonde Sky Knight put a hand on my shoulder, Finn bristled a bit more. Only Stork kept grimly aloof. Despite Aerrow's guarded questioning, he got no answers. And since they'd naïvely put their trust in Cyclonia before, (and Piper told me that too,) I found myself in flux between excited amazement and mild panic. It was too astounding to believe yet.

"How can she be Harrier's sister?" Aerrow asked the Guardian on his left. They were flanking us as they led us to their city- like guarded royalty and guarded prisoners in the same unnerving moment. "Why didn't you tell us _last_ time you had a sibling?"

"And how'd she get on Terra Serenicus?" added Piper.

I didn't expect any kind of answer. I caught Harrier's fiery blue gaze in hopes he'd treat me differently. He stopped abruptly and turned around, causing each Hawk to tense up. "I promise," he said suddenly to Aerrow, "I can explain everything once we're inside."

The younger knight's green eyes searched the older one's for a moment, the tension threatening to crack like the downwind echo of a hunter's rifle. Finally he nodded and we continued walking.

The group escorted us into a fancy building- a mansion, by my standards -in which the dim light made their golden hair glow. I realized as I tucked some behind my ear that mine was ablaze as well. Everything seemed to be designed to compliment them, hair, skin, gold armor and outfits, and I realized now more than ever that I bore a striking resemblance to these people. The sky knight in particular. Although I was almost shaky from shock, I realized it was likely that my origin was here. Harrier's redundant maternal chatter made it nearly impossible to glance back at the Storm Hawks, even for a second, to see what they made of it all. Until we reached our destination, anyway. The dining room was amazingly elaborate, especially the long table in the center. Aerrow sat on my left and Piper sat on my right; my bodyguard and my diplomat as we prepared for the bombardment of information that was soon to follow. As the squadron seated themselves opposite us, I looked at the two on either side of me. Both wore the same look: guarded curiosity. If they'd been here before, they were too focused on the current events to show it.

"Forgive us for being secretive," murmured the female Guardian. "We can't have anyone seeing you here, dear."

_Because once people know where I am, Cyclonia will too,_ I realized with a prickle of unease. (Which I could hardly feel on top of all the other chaos wreaking havoc on my system.)

At this point, the youngest Guardian returned from the same doorway he'd disappeared through earlier, holding a tattered book. Sliding it across the table between Piper and I, he began.

"Long ago, just as today, Terra Rex had a wide variety of citizens. Usually very wealthy or very poor. Some of the poorest claimed to be prophets." Illustrations and hand-penned captions in the book confirmed that. "Although few could corroborate those claims, there were several who our ancestors believed. Their predictions had been proved accurate." As he spoke, Piper gasped and touched my shoulder. On one of the pages midway through the book was a picture - of me.

At this point Harrier took over. "One of our greatest prophets foretold a child who would be born with … unnatural abilities." He forced the words out as if anything that farfetched might somehow make him fall over and go into spasms. "Upon contact with her, certain people could learn her thoughts and memories. Likewise, their knowledge would be passed onto her. There were more details about the extent of her powers, but they weren't well-preserved and we lost them."

"That child was… me?"

His pale sapphire eyes fixed on mine. "When Mother was pregnant with you she dreamt vivid dreams every night, incredible visions she could recount with inexplicable accuracy. Then when you were born they stopped. The first time I was allowed to hold you…" he trailed off, as if the magnitude of the memory overwhelmed him. "Every detail of every dream flooded into my mind as I looked into your eyes. And I could feel your thoughts." I swallowed as he looked at his hands. In my state of shock, all my senses seemed sharper, and I could've sworn that when he let out a breath I could feel it from across the table. Even its warmth was familiar, I thought.

Piper spoke up. "Then how can she be from Reveria?" I glanced at the youngest Guardian again.

"You had to be hidden before Cyclonia found out about you," he replied promptly. "Reveria is where their prisoners were taken for many years - brainwashed and isolated, many a sky knight were lost to the terra. It's the last place anyone would look for you."

"But then…" the redhead on my left gave me a quizzical look. "Why did they say they wanted you for your writing abilities?"

"Well is it possible that my … um, powers … could somehow transfer memories through my writing?"

"It could just be an excuse so nobody listening in knew who she was," suggested Junko. "You wouldn't believe all this prophecy stuff if you didn't know about it."

"It'd make for a better - sounding excuse," Stork agreed.

"Writing aside, the obvious reason is for her abilities," said the female Guardian. Finn gave a little gasp and we turned out eyes on him.

"And now she knows everything about us!"

"Which is all the more reason to protect her from Master Cyclonis," Aerrow interrupted.

For a long moment nobody spoke. Harrier finally opened his mouth. Piper pursed her lips and Aerrow clenched his fists in his lap.

"You had better," he hissed. He hastily changed his tone. "I'm sorry; you're the most trustworthy people to guard her. You have my confidence and I'll gladly leave her in your hands."

"I know you must've missed her," said Piper softly, "but you have your terra to guard, and since we're always on the move we'd have a better chance of concealing her."

"That _is_ more practical," he agreed, blue eyes flicking back and fourth in thought. "But please allow up to repay you. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like." Finn's eyes lit up and Junko gasped. Stork shook his head while Aerrow narrowed his eyes in thought.

"It _would_ be nice to get some time to read up on the prophecy," suggested Piper from my side. "And it couldn't hurt to let Mira and Harrier catch up." I turned my gaze to Aerrow, and he eyed us both as he decided.

"Mmm… all right. But just for tonight."

"YES!" Finn and Junko jumped up in excitement, and Junko knocked his chair over. One of the squad members shot him an annoyed look and he shrugged in embarrassment.

"I can show you to your quarters," murmured the pretty female Guardian, rising and beckoning for our group to follow. The four of us seated got up, but Harrier's voice stopped me.

"Mira?" I turned back to him. "Could we take a moment to get re-acquainted?"

Fondness for my brother welled up in my chest and I nodded.

Aerrow placed a hand on my shoulder. "Catch up with us later, okay?" I smiled and gave him an 'okay.' Something in his gaze made me think he was still concerned with the situation, but I knew I'd be fine. Still, his edginess made me a little uneasy too. I turned back to the blonde sky knight, who was now standing at the door at the opposite end of the long room. I clasped my hands nervously and followed as he begin walking.

The hallway was dimly lit with more extravagant sconces, and I gazed at the rug beneath my feet as it morphed in the candlelight. Harrier was tall and muscular. His short, rich-gold ponytail bobbed with his proud stride as he walked. I've always had a bit of aloofness in my step as well, and now I knew where I got it from. So much had happened since yesterday afternoon… I could faintly hear Mrs. Bertie's monotone drawling in the recesses of my mind, and wasn't the slightest bit sad at the thought that it would eventually fade forever.

Suddenly a question popped into my head. Being a little self-conscious, it took me a few moments to psych myself up to answer. (Okay, I'm _very_ self-conscious. Whatever.)

"Harrier?"

"Yes, Mira?"

"On my planet- er, on Reveria, rather, we had different countries. In America people talked like I do, and in the United Kingdom, they had an accent like yours. So does that mean the people who talked like you were prisoners taken from Terra Rex?"

Silence was my response for a little while.

"I don't know, honestly," he finally said. "That's quite an astute question. You have Mother's insatiable curiosity, I see."

I smiled.

"That could be the case," he mused in his authoritative voice.

We walked on quietly for another minute or two. _Have the Storm Hawks gotten to their rooms yet_? I wondered. If my shoulders and upper arms weren't aching from the glass recently plucked out of them, I still wouldn't have believed that any of this was real.

"Ah. Here we are-" the sky knight stopped and pulled an ornate key ring from his pocket, and I squinted as reddish evening light shot through the doorway. He stepped aside and gestured for me to go first, pale eyes shining lovingly. I walked past and blinked at the bright sunset spilling in through the windows that encompassed nearly all of the huge, circular room. The floor was gorgeous lilac tile, and velvety curtains covered a few of the tall windows as well. There was a bed on one side, and on it sat a few stuffed animals (species unknown.) The bedspread was a beautiful landscape - one that looked quite a lot like the terra we were on. And a gorgeous crystal chandelier was suspended from the ceiling, reflecting a billion intricate rainbows across the room.

"This… this is gorgeous." I took a step toward the window, drinking in the sight of the ground dropping away to clouds below.

"It was your room." Turning back to him, I felt my jaw drop. He nodded and smiled a little."M-my room?"

"Yes. You only slept in it a few times before you had to be taken and hidden." His voice was a little softer the next time he spoke. "You were so tiny. I would sit with you for hours while you slept."

There was suddenly a lump in my throat.

"The day I came in and you were gone was the day I vowed to become a sky knight. I pledged to protect my people since I … could no longer protect you."

The clouds were glowing with fire beneath my window as I gazed out. His embrace felt overwhelmingly familiar as I raced over and buried my face in his warm chest.

-xXxXx-

**A** knock at my door awoke me the next morning. I yawned and flopped onto my back, sitting up with a grunt. "Who is it?"

"It's Piper," came the muffled reply. "Can I come in?"

I cleared my throat. "Sure!"

The petite dark-skinned girl stumbled in toting a gargantuan stack of books. "I've been-" she grunted. "-researching and-"

"Gosh! Here, let me help." I hopped up and raced over, the floor cold on my bare feet. Grabbing about half of the stack, I grunted and carried them over to my bed. She dropped her pile beside mine, and sighed with relief. Suddenly they toppled over and we both shouted.

"Look at all these," I exclaimed. "And they all have stuff about me in them?"

"Well, I'll show you." I went around to the side of my bed and ushered her over to sit on the other side. She plopped down and began shuffling through the half-of-a-library she'd brought with her. "Nice pajamas, by the way."

"Oh. Thanks!" I was wearing a lacy purple nightgown a servant had brought me. (Along with a million dollars' worth of bath and beauty supplies.) "But they're kinda itchy."

"Anyway, here's some stuff about the prophets." She pulled a thick green book open to a marked page. "The man who foretold you arrival was a respected religious man back in his time."

"Huh."

"I didn't find much out about you that we hadn't been told already, but here are a few things on the prophet." I skimmed the tattered papers as she opened a few other books to other marked pages.

"Revered clairvoyant Richard White … prophetic seer Richard White … wasn't unexpected, and was in fact predicted by Richard White. _Look_ at all this on him!"

"Exactly. There's a little on you here." Her painted nail tapped on one of the newest-looking books. "See?"

"Only a week later he was advising citizens to mark two other dates on their calendars," I read. "Along with his warning of the impending Raptor attack, he mentioned that a new type of crystal would soon be discovered and that a child would be born with the ability to- hey! It's torn out!"

"I know," she murmured, voice dark with fascination. "Isn't it weird?"

"Who did it? Somebody in the house who didn't want people knowing it was me?" I blinked at her. "It _is_ me, isn't it?"

The girl gave a little half-shrug, her cute blue-black hair fluffing as she did so. "We _think _so." I searched her eyes for a moment, as puzzled as she was. Biting my lip, I returned my attention to the books.

"So is there anything else on me? We already know this White guy is legit."

"There is one thing." She grabbed a brownish-red one that looked like an ancient school textbook. She leafed through it to the bookmarked page. "Hmm. Wrong one." She picked up the other book that was nearly identical and her stressed expression disappeared as she handed it to me. "Look at the top paragraph."

"Huh." It read the following:

_Although it was his last prediction, White made his final prediction only one time to a small group of his followers. He spoke of a female child with the ability to retain all the information she witnessed and to see into the future. Her knowledge could then be shared by coming in contact with another human. He described her as a thin child with blonde hair and silver eyes. If any transcript of the speech remains, its location is unknown, although his followers were often sighted taking notes._

"Wow." I sat back and rubbed at the goosebumps on my arms.

"It certainly sounds like you. Blonde hair and gray eyes. And you're really pale."

"But I get my hair colored! It's almost _brown_ naturally!" I gazed at her as worry gnawed at my stomach. I was surprised when she sniffed and began giggling.

"You worry about weird stuff," she said between laughs. The more I thought about it, the funnier it was. I'm virtually doomed, and I'm upset about hair? Duh, me. I shook my head in shame, and suddenly found myself giggling too.

"Oh my gosh." I laughed. "I'm dumb, aren't I?" For a second she tried to stop and only made an obscene snorting noise through her nose.

"Yes!"

At this we were both laughing hysterically. My neck and back were sore, but it didn't make much of a difference. I fell back on the bed, covering my mouth as I cackled. "The-" I broke into another fit of laughter. "The funniest part is that it isn't even that funny!"

"I know! I don't get it!" She finally subsided to muted giggles, and I caught up. I gave a relieved sigh. But it sounded weird, and we were cackling again a split second later.

The door flew open and Aerrow shot through it. "What's going on? Is something wrong?" I immediately felt my cheeks redden and sat up.

"Nothing," said Piper. She giggled again.

"Well… what's so funny?" His emerald eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Nothing." She glanced at me and I glanced at her. I hiccupped.

"Oh no." I covered my mouth and hiccupped again. She fell back and gave another shriek of laughter. "I hate geHIC- getting hiccupps!" Aerrow raised an eyebrow, and I started sniggering again myself. Of course, though, every few ha-ha-ha's I'd hiccup, and that sounded ridiculous, and Piper and I laughed harder.

"Well, uh, you two have fun," the young sky knight said in a weirded-out voice. "I'm gonna go… check on stuff." We managed to stop until he exited, and we started cackling again, harder yet. That went on for a good five minutes (tee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha-HIC-ha-ha-ha-hee-hee-hee-hee-HIC-HAAA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-HIC) before I was totally out of breath and she had nearly fallen off the bed.

"Ouch." I put a hand to my abdomen. "That hurt."

"I'm sorry," she rasped, delicately wiping a tear from her cheek. "But I'm pretty sure you're the person we're looking for."

"Hey! Do you want to find out for sure?" She sat up and blinked at me. "We don't have to since we don't know the details on how it works…"

"No. I'll try it." She pushed a lock of her thick dark hair from her face and scooted closer. I was suddenly embarrassed by the prospect of her learning all of my memories. (They'd been fighting villains, and my greatest triumph was graduating from my potty-seat to a toilet.)

"It's not going to be very exciting, I fear."

"Oh, don't worry about it. If there's anything you want to keep a secret, just let me know." I smiled, grateful to have such a trustworthy friend. I nodded, and she rested her hand lightly on my arm as I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly the world around me vanished and I was thrust into darkness. The air was sucked out of my lungs and I suddenly felt … not bloated, but profoundly full. Full to bursting with voices, music, scents and sights. My blood seemed to be teeming with every word ever spoken to me, and the voices of my past grew more and more intense until my head hurt and my heart pounded. Somehow I realized that the only way to release the chaos and to keep me from exploding was to open my eyes, and as I did I was hit by a blinding light.

I was sopping wet and was squinting against the harsh fluorescent light around me. I raised my arm to shield my eyes and found it covered in blood. I screamed, but what came out was a feeble wail- the cry of a baby. The person holding me handed me to somebody else, and suddenly I was being scrubbed vigorously with a fluffy towel. I shrieked in irritation- I felt quite violated -and behind me I heard a woman's voice say, "Congratulations! Your baby is just fine."

"Can I see her?" The voice was beautiful, but strained and thin with exhaustion.

A second later I was being bundled in a new towel and handed back to the first lady to invade my personal space. "I'm NOT a burrito!" I exclaimed, but it came out as an angry little keen instead.

"Aww. How sweet. Yes you are," said the woman in a puppy-voice. Did she know what I said? If my arms were any longer I would've slapped her. I began crying in frustration.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here you go. Here's Mommy."

Mom? I quieted as I was handed to somebody else. Her way of handling me was much gentler. She had glowing blue eyes and pale ivory skin. She looked like an angel when she smiled, and her familiar scent filled me as I reached out and touched her beautiful, sweaty face in awe. I held my breath as-

-xXxXx-

-**s**he opened her mouth to speak. "Hello, my little one. It's time to go."

"Go? What?" My voice was a little more developed now, but still an unintelligible squeak compared to hers. I was surrounded my blankets and my arms were clamped around a stuffed animal. My mother was now hovering over me, her irises ever bluer against the puffy redness surrounding them. She had been crying. I raised my arms, hoping that picking me up would comfort her.

"Yes. Come here." She lifted me gingerly, resting me against her smooth stomach. She sniffed a watery sniff- which was quite loud and scared me -and I grabbed her nose. She laughed and more tears ran down her pale cheeks. "I'm going to miss you, my love." She cuddled me against her chest and I squeaked in exasperation.

"Mother?" She spun around and I was facing the window, unable to see a thing. I squirmed until I could see the source of the voice. Lingering in the doorway was my brother, at about eight or nine. "Is she leaving today?"

"Yes, Harrier. We're taking her somewhere where nobody dangerous will ever find her." They fell into a pregnant silence, and Mom and I waited for him to speak again.

"Can I go with her?"

My mother's laugh was a bittersweet one. "No. I couldn't bear to lose you both. It's safe for a baby, but someone your age would be suspicious."

"Oh." He took a step and changed his mind, halting. "Can I hold her before you take her away?"

"Of course. Come here."

Finally my big brother came forward, and I was carefully passed to his small arms. He wasn't as warm as Mom, but he smelled even more familiar. The thought of being separated from him for who-knew-how-long made a simple but overwhelming sadness fill me. Even though I was far too young to construe an emotion accurately, three words popped into my tiny, developing mind.

_I'll miss you._

"I'll miss you too," he murmured, and I flinched as a tear hit my forehead. "I hope to see you again someday, Mira."

My well thought-out response was expressed in what sounded like a "gah." He seemed to understand it, though, and hugged me tightly before my mother's hands squeezed between his arms and my form. I made a noise in protest as he reluctantly let me go, and my mother fitted me against her and walked into-

-xXxXx-

-**t**he dark hall and ducked into the kitchen. "I _told_ you where I was going. I'm not repeating myself." His voice was harsh and loud, and I squeezed back behind the cupboard so he wouldn't see me. The dim light that poured halfheartedly into the kitchen would set my yellow hair ablaze if it caught a strand of it, and I knew I had to keep hidden if I didn't want to light up like a blonde Christmas tree.

"Don't do this," came a softer, crestfallen voice. Both were quickly recognized, but one I wished I didn't know. "Don't _do_ this again!"

"Do what, Michelle? Do what?"

"I know you weren't out this late for work. I'm not stupid."

"Yeah? How do you know? You sit at home all day while I'm trying to run my father's business, and you think you can tell _me_ what work is like?"

"I work all day," came the anguished reply. "I work for twelve hours a day while she sits in here by herself." She paused, and I swallowed. Why wasn't she defending herself? Did she really have _that_ little confidence? "Okay, I can see being out late in the summer. Paving is better in warm weather. But in the _winter_? You can't tell me you're striping roads day and night in three feet of snow."

"What do you know? You couldn't even finish college! I have two degrees!"

"Henry, don't do this again, please-"

"Do what? You're the one who wants me playing patty-cake here at home instead of bringing in a steady income for this little family of yours!"

_Of yours? _I swallowed, rage flooding my young veins. _I'm yours _too, _dirtbag._

"Are you seeing Anne again? Just tell me."

"Anne? This is about your little 'Anne' thing again?"

"Are you seeing her or not?" Her voice was at fever-pitch, the way a woman who doesn't know whether to fight or cry might sound. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"Oh, I can't _believe_ you. Just look at this. Look at this mess. You can't even keep the house clean and you're _accusing me_ of an affair?"

_But you're having one,_ I thought vengefully. _At seven I can see that you're having one._

"Henry-" I could hear the sadness in her voice, and knew from the way it shook that she was crying. I leaned forward, and could see her silhouetted at one end of the dining-room table. I knew he was at the other.

I didn't wait for his next argument; his next aversion of the truth. I was angry at him for being selfish and angry at her for not defending herself more vehemently. And angry at being here. A world where there are no happy endings and dreams don't come true. But by this point I didn't remember that other place that indeed existed; the place where hope and justice were more than abstract concepts that barely classed as nouns. I walked back to my room, and their shouts ceased as they heard my door slamming shut. But it was-

-xXxXx-

-**t**hen that I realized I'd forgotten something and opened my locker again. With a grunt I squatted down and began fingering through the folders inside. "Social Studies, Math… Science. Here you are!" I picked my pencil pouch off of the pile of books in my lap and stuck the folder under it.

"Look at her." My ears picked up the nasally tone of Haley. She had short, brown hair, brown eyes, and the only shirt she wore that didn't show cleavage was her cheerleading outfit.

"I know," whispered Mackenzie. (She's of the same breed.)

"Ugh! Like, when is she gonna cut her hair?"

"I don't know. It's too long. And it's blonde!"

"I know! And she's so pale! Doesn't she ever tan?"

"Maybe her _mommy_ won't let her." They pitched into a fit of giggles, and I stood up and slammed my locker door, walking dejectedly through the doorway and-

-xXxXx-

-**s**etting my books down on the counter. My grandparents were standing in the kitchen, Grandpa's eyes on the floor and Grandma's shining with a sympathy that made my blood run cold.

"Hey, Grandma. How are you?"

"Oh… I'm all right."

I chose my words carefully. I didn't want her poor heart to give out when she had to break the bad news to me, whatever it was. I had already shed a few apprehensive tears on the bus, and now my stomach and lungs were tight: a wall that I'd built to withstand anything fate chucked over its shoulder at me.

"Why did the principal have me come here after school?"

"Honey, I- well, oh dear me -come in and sit down on the sofa."

Plopping down on the 'sofa,' as she called the over-upholstered couch, I forced myself to meet her silvery eyes. She was beside me and grandpa had walked out of the sitting room.

"Honey, this is going to be hard for you to hear. Now, your dad has agreed to stay until everything's over, and then you'll be staying with aunt Renee for a while."

By now I had dropped into an icy pit of terror and despair. The walls had shattered around me, and I was shaking as tears threatened to slip down my face.

"Oh, you're so beautiful, Mira. You look just like your mother did when she was young-"

"_Grandma!_" I snapped. "What happened?"

The tears had darkened her lap before they had mine. "Your mom has cancer, and it's malignant. That means-"

"Dammit, I know what it means," I snapped, leaping to my feet and walking to the window. Her quiet sobbing barely came through the shock and grief that had flared up around me. "I'm so sorry, Grandma, I- so my dad doesn't even care." The tears streamed down my face, down my neck, and the dust on the windowsill swam in puddles of saltwater. "So Daddy dearest is going to be sleeping with Anne while my mom dies in a hospital bed, huh?"

Her little sobs had raised to feeble wails that made my anger blaze deeper.

-xXxXx-

**I** wiped the tears from my face as I tucked my hair behind my ear and opened the door. She was but a mere bundle of blankets in the bed, and the harsh, unforgiving hospital light made the creases in my adopted mother's face darker than they'd ever looked before. She was thin and frail, and her flesh resembled used tissue paper in texture and color. Machines beeped around her, feeding the cruel fluids into her that sustained her worn and maimed body. Her soul seemed small and weak; a decayed fragment of the happy creature she'd once been. Even more disconcerting was that her dying spirit was second to the deep, malevolent presence of the evil thing eating her from the inside. I could almost see it; deep, hollow eyes gleaming as its red jaws slowly ripped her innards apart. Its forlorn name didn't match the evil this thing represented. All my grief didn't rival the intense hatred that beat through my heart.

"Hey Mom." I set my flowers in the vase beside her pillow. When she didn't answer, I lightly touched her shoulder. "Hi, Mom," I said more loudly. She gasped and jumped, and it took everything in me not to jump back. She was nothing but skin stretched over bone, and my anguish was tempered by revulsion toward this thing my mother's soul was forced to inhabit.

"Oh! Hi, honey! I missed you."

"I missed you too," I said carefully, keeping my voice steady. The snobby-sounding nurse had instructed me not to upset her.

"How's school going?"

"Great!" I didn't mention Haley or my A's that had dropped to C's. "I have a science test tomorrow, actually, but it should be easy."

"Good. I know you'll do perfectly."

"Grandpa and I went to that new restaurant yesterday. It's gorgeous inside."

"I knew it would be. I know the man who designed it, actually. He was one of my customers. I groomed his little dog for years." I smiled and nodded. I hated to act the self-centered teenager part, but if she knew I did nothing but worry about her, she'd die in as much sadness as I lived within.

"So did you talk to Andre yet?"

"No! I'm not going out with him!" She gave a little wheezing sound that I realized was her best attempt at laughter. I began to panic, and my drive to keep her mind off of her condition strengthened. "I mean, he's sweet, but he's dumb! I'd be so frustrated that I'd pull my hair out." She gave another little throaty, hollow laugh, and it seemed to come from the place eaten away at by the cancer-demon. The thought that it was laughing too made me throw up a bit in my mouth, and I would swallow a good twenty times on the way home. By this point her humor was subsiding, and it gave way to exhaustion.

"So how are the cats?"

"Oh, they're good." I knew she was struggling now to stay conscious, but I also knew she'd die before asking me to leave. "Listen, I have to get studying for my science test, so I'll see you later."

"I love you, Mira."

"I love you too, Mom." I forced myself to hug her, imagining that I was hugging the old Mom and not the one inhabited by the cancer-monster, being harvested for her meat by it.

"And Mom? One more thing. _Listen_," I insisted as her eyes fell closed and fluttered back open. "If you're on your way before I come back to visit, tell Aunt Rita I said hi. Okay?"

"Can do," she rasped, smiling with her thin lips. "I'll tell her all about you."

"Good." I kissed her on the forehead as I imagined the cancer-monster recoiling from the love that flooded into her remains. That made me feel a little better, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as I pulled back and waved. "See ya."

"See ya," she whispered as I smiled and closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath to steady myself; and for once I was going to be okay. But as that snobby nurse came back to put more ingredients into my mom's cocktail of pain meds, I fell to my knees, my hands flew to my face, and I let sobbing overtake me.

The sounds of my cries faded as I slipped into darkness, and I opened my eyes to the morning light of Terra Rex. The sniffling I heard was coming from Piper, and I turned and wrapped her in a hug.

"I didn't know your life was so awful," she said as she wept, freeing an arm from my embrace to wipe her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd-"

"Sorry? _I'm_ sorry you had to go through all that!" I rubbed her back, shocked that my simple Earth-live had upset her so. Sure, it was crappy, but somebody _else_ crying about it? Yet at the same moment, I realized that my own vision was clouding and my hands were shaking.

"I hate crying in front of people," I muttered, sniffing and rubbing my nose.

"I promise," she said, as she regained her composure and I took the sobbing over where she'd left off, "that you'll never go through anything like that again. Not while the Storm Hawks are here to protect you."

-xXxXx-

**S**oft and thick clouds were rolling in above and around the terra as the Storm Hawks and I prepared to leave. Although I felt guilty about it, Harrier had insisted that I take as many clothes and supplies as I possibly could fit into my room without weighing the Condor down too much to fly. They were a little fancy and stuffy-looking (when I saw one pink dress, I thought, _How many videogames could you buy with that?_) but their generosity was greatly appreciated. Stork was getting antsy and claimed that the bed sheets in his room had given him a rash, so Aerrow permitted him to go back to the Condor. On the condition that he took my stuff with him. So when he could only lift two of the huge cases, Junko opted to lend him a rather large hand and they headed back to the cruiser.

"Thank you again for your hospitality, Harrier." Aerrow smiled and shook the sky knight's hand as the wind ruffled his blazing red hair. The rest of the squadron was training, but my brother had offered to see us off. "We all appreciate it."

"My pleasure. Especially since I've entrusted my little sister to you." He turned his gaze to me, fondness glowing in his sky-colored eyes. I stepped forward and hugged him tightly. He returned it.

"Bye," I murmured against his cold, well-polished armor. "I'll miss you."

"You too. But this time you must promise to visit a bit more than before."

"Before, I didn't even know you existed," I retorted. "But I will."

"Good girl." I pulled back and stared at my feet. (Now in a pair of leather Terra Rex boots.) He put a strong finger under my chin and tilted my face up to meet his. "You'll be safe with these six. There's no one better to care for you."

"I know." I turned and smiled at Piper, Finn, Aerrow and Radarr. They all returned the gesture, (even Radarr,) and for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like I was a burden.

"Thanks again," said Aerrow as I rejoined them to have Piper put a hand on my shoulder and Finn poke me in the side.

"Good luck, Storm Hawks." I could feel his eyes on us as we turned back toward the ship.

The Condor was near their city, but still a good hike off for a bunch of kids and a fluffy blue thing. The fragrant perfume of the blossoming trees filled my lungs as I followed the sky knight. Piper was beside me and the hyperactive marksman had raced ahead. Radarr was wound around Aerrow's shoulders like a feather boa. He kept giving me curious looks as if he'd expected me to stay with the Rex Guardians. And why hadn't I? Well, besides the fact that I'd be endangering a whole terra, they seemed like the kind of people who would yell at you if you so much as _thought_ about farting. They were simply too uptight for my standards.

"So," started Aerrow, and I felt him glance back. "What's it like knowing you're related to a sky knight?"

"I don't know. Different. I still don't think I can grasp how brave you guys really are yet."

"Need to see us kick some Cyclonian tail first?" Piper and I jumped a little, and I glared at Finn. How'd he get behind us?

"Hopefully you won't," said Aerrow. "But you probably will eventually."

"We should probably teach you some fighting moves," suggested Piper. "You know. Just in case." Her tone was casual, and I tried to nod with the same nonchalance, but a tingle ran down my spine at the thought. Fighting wasn't my forte. On debate teams, maybe, but not with swords. Scary.

"Does she get a cool weapon?" Asked Finn from behind. I started again, and was immediately embarrassed that I'd forgotten him so promptly.

"Maybe," answered the leader, glancing back at me in amusement. His boots clanked on the ramp as he headed onto the Condor, and Finn trotted up after Piper and I. Once we'd gotten inside, Radarr hopped down and skittered off.

"We got your stuff in, Mira," called Junko. "Those Guardians sure had a lot of extra clothes!"

"I know. Thanks for the help!"

"No problem! I'll be in my room if you need anything else." He plodded off down one of the endless, identical halls and I sighed internally. _You'll never see him again,_ whispered my inner pessimist. (She's also the part of me that gets lost in big places.)

"Stork," the sky knight called as he headed off toward the bridge, "we're ready to go." The ramp-thingy folded up and closed the exit off as I watched. Piper also headed toward the main room, and I followed her. On the bridge, more puffy dark clouds were gathering in front of the window. There was a small jolt as the carrier pilot yanked on one of three levers and the ship leapt into the air.

"We got a big storm front comin'." The green pilot said it with little more interest than you'd read use to read a cereal box. "Probably full of fatal-scale lightning and crushing winds."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Aerrow didn't sound the slightest bit concerned, and sauntered over to the big table on one side of the big room. Piper walked past him, little heels clanking on the metallic floor, and bent over a chest. It creaked as she opened it, and in her arm she collected several rolled-up papers. She then deposited them on that table and began looking them over. She sky knight crossed his arms. "So where are we headed?"

"This way." She traced her finger over an invisible line she'd mentally drawn on the map. The redhead looked thoughtful for a moment, emerald eyes widening and blinking.

"Isn't that the way we just came, though?"

"Not exactly. We'll just be going a little ways around the worst of the weather."

"We'll have to be careful when we go by Reveria then," he muttered, and he gave the map she was leaning over a final dubious look before heading off somewhere else. I saw a flash of yellow as Piper glanced at him before going back to plotting her course.

Wait.

Was she up to something?

After debating for a moment, I walked cautiously across the immense room and stopped beside the table. I crossed my arms and turned my gaze to the window, where the yellowy-gray clouds drifted listlessly by. Stork shot me a suspicious glance before returning his attention to the helm. "How goes the course-plotting?"

When I received no answer, I glanced over to see what she was doing. To my surprise, she was looking at me, and ushered for me to come over. Leaning down with my elbows on the table, I blinked quizzically as she leaned toward me and cupped a hand over her mouth.

"You have cats, right?" I nodded slightly.

"Yeah. Oliver, Illie, and Apollo," I whispered back.

"Do you want them?"

"What?" I pulled back to stare at her, but she yanked me back down by the shoulder.

"They're your pets. If they were your mother's, don't they mean a lot to you?" I opened my mouth, but she wasn't finished. "If we go back over the terra, we can slip off during the night and get them back. This may be your only chance to get them."

"But-" my heart sank as I remembered the three: glowing eyes, swishing tails, the sweet scent of their warm, wooly fur. I suddenly missed them desperately. A mental picture appeared before me in which Oliver was curled up in my mom's lap.

I had to have them.

"But won't it be dangerous?"

"I know what I'm doing. We can conceal ourselves with cloaking crystals."

"Won't Aerrow be mad?"

"Well…" She gave a small shrug. "Maybe, but wouldn't it be worth it?"

"I don't want to betray his trust already," I shot back frantically. I then sighed and tapped my fingers on the table. Bringing them along would put them in unnecessary danger. At the same time, I'd know they were being cared for. (I doubted Aunt Renee would keep them now that I'd vanished. She had higher priorities.) Still, while they _did_ have Radarr, he wasn't a cat. He could defend himself. "Wouldn't that be dangerous for them?"

"I… I don't know about this, but-" I swallowed as she hesitated. Movement caught my eye and I realized Stork was glaring at me again. I didn't look up, though, conscious that it might seem suspicious. Her voice was sympathetic but hasty as she went on, and I nodded at her words. "-Mira, it isn't likely that life on Reveria is just going to go on unchanged. That's our fault. Soon the fabric of existence for your people is going to be ripped apart, and once they realize that their terra isn't the extent of existence, Reverians will either become resistors or Cyclonians. The Cyclonians are going to _realize_ that you're not there, and that means they could start taking those close to you hostage to get you to surrender yourself."

"Oh no." My stomach tightened in horror. That didn't seem like a farfetched idea. And the only family I cared about were my three pets. Back in the day, (as in before I'd even imagined flying motorcycles existed,) I'd seen the extent of animal cruelty on television. An image flickered in my mind, one of my kitten howling in a puddle of it's own blood. Fury rose up in my chest and I clenched a fist. "I won't let that happen to them," I murmured aloud, and although it was an abstract statement, she seemed to understand enough. She nodded quickly.

"In that case-" we both jumped, shocked to see Stork looking over his shoulder at us. My heart began to race at the thought of getting told-on and forbidden from rescuing my cats. I was even more shocked when his expression softened and his eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure I can find a terra nearby to dock on tomorrow night."

I sighed with relief as Piper smiled. "Thanks, Stork," she whispered. "Tomorrow night, then?" I nodded and stood up, exhilarated and determined to retrieve my three last memories I wanted to keep.

"Tomorrow night."

* * *

I know the flashbacks are ridiculously cliched. Some of it is true and some some of it isn't. It really portrays how angry I used to be at my dad for making out household such a stressful one ... we have a much better relationship now, though.

Piper's my hero! XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Kidnapped**

**M**oonlight poured in through the wide, thick window into the bridge of the Condor. Every piece of dull, worn metal gleamed like crystal, suspended in bluish, dreamlike silence. The door swooshed open and a small blonde girl tiptoed in. Her hair was back in a ponytail, excusing a few stubborn strands that insisted on falling in her face. Her eyes glowed like neon in the moonlit room and her velvety shirt did as well. It was pale lilac and edged with lace, and her rolled-up jeans stopped right where her leather boots started. She walked to the table at the back, shoulders and hands tight with apprehension. This went against all reason, yet she knew she had no choice. She gritted her teeth together and sat down against the wall, twining her long fingers as she prepared to wait.

A few minutes later the door swooshed open again, this time letting in the ship's navigator and tactician. Her hair was up in its usual style, thick dark locks fluffed up and held in place by a yellow headband. Her eyes - of the same yellow - were narrowed, but widened with relief as she saw the skinny blonde huddled up behind the table. While the pale girl looked like a small child lost at an airport, the dark-skinned one had the relaxed air of someone in their own home. And after all, she was.

"Hey! Are you ready, Mira?" She helped the blonde up, who smiled with slight relief.

"Guess so."

"Don't worry. We'll get this over with and be back before they miss us."

The blonde smiled again and nodded. Her eyes were wide with anxiety, but hard with conviction. "I'm ready."

The hangar door growled loudly as it opened, letting a gust of cold night air in. Piper climbed onto her bike and Mira sat down behind her. She revved the engine and sped out the door before pulling a lever just below the speed gauge. When she did, the back of the bike folded in with a series of careful clicks and a set of blades much like a helicopter's rose out. The exhaust pipe glowed with blue light as the small craft lifted into the air, and a moment later the ship was far behind them.

As Piper steered her heliscooter through the low clouds, the air changed colors before them. In the distance, a murky purple cloud appeared, glowing dimly with the light beneath.

"Is that really Reveria?" asked the blonde, shielding her eyes from the strong wind to get a better look at it.

"Yep. It is. That cloud cover was always there, but the Cyclonian scientists used crystals to make it even thicker. I'd like to know what they used," she added as they slowed down and tendrils of the thick fog snaked up around them. She then steered them up away from the murk. "We'll go down in a minute, but I want to stop over there to make sure our plans match up. Give you a minute to get your directions straight."

"Thanks," said Mira, "that'd be nice."

Piper stopped the heliscooter on a small outcropping of rock around half a mile from Reveria. Mira hopped off as Piper pulled a map from the bag at her side. "This is where we went through before. Do you think you'll be able to guide me to your house from your school?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I can. But-" she bit her lip in embarrassment and she met her friend's eyes. "-could you give me a minute to mentally prepare myself? It's going to be hard to go back there."

"Sure." The dark-skinned girl smiled, eyes glowing with understanding and respect. Mira watched her for a moment before hugging her. "Take your time. We'll get going as soon as you're ready."

"Thanks." The blonde pulled back and gave her friend a brief nod before turning around and walking off into the tall grass. The navigator looked after her for a second before turning back to the map to inspect it more closely.

Mira sighed, looking out across the baron landscape of the small, abandoned terra. Although it had only been a few days since her life had been drastically altered, the prospect of even briefly returning to how it had been was a disconcerting one. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms as the breeze moved the hair in her face. Images flickered in her mind of those she'd seen every day, the classmates that didn't know she existed but were her family nonetheless. Only three days had passed and she couldn't match a single name to the pairs of familiar eyes.

"I can do this," she murmured to herself, staring down at her hands. "It'll only be for a few minutes. I can go back."

At that moment the moonlight vanished and a huge shadow took its place. Her eyes widened as she whipped around to see what had covered it. A hulking figure towered over her, blackened by shadow except for its two glowing eyes. Her jaw dropped as it clamped an icy, scaled hand around her tiny wrist.

"The only place you'll be going is with me."

-xXxXx-

**H**e leapt onto the switchblade and drew his weapons. They zapped to life as he glared at the dark warrior. "I won't let you get away!"

"We'll see about _that_," his enemy shot back, hitting the autopilot button and drawing his own sword. The older man towered over him, but he wasn't scared. His blades crashed against the sword as they pushed against each other for a long second and the wind blasted against their faces. "I'll never lose to you!" the Cyclonian hissed.

"Don't be so sure," said the sky knight, before giving a final shove and knocking the man off his ride. With an angry cry, the Dark Ace flicked his sword and shot a blast of energy at the boy. Aerrow leapt nimbly off just before the blast hit the sky-ride and blew it to pieces. The young sky knight landed carefully on the seat of his own bike, sheathing his blades and smiling in triumph as his enemy fled into the clouds.

"Aerrow! You did it!"

The boy looked down to see a huge crowd below him, voices rising in admiration.

"You defeated him!"

"You're a hero!"

"Will you marry me?"

He raised his hand to wave at his adoring fans. "Thank you, thank you. Just doing my-"

Suddenly a screeching noise blasted behind him, knocking him off his bike. Aerrow sat up, dazed. Blinding light flashed in his face - red then blue then red again. His leaf-green eyes widened in realization.

"Stork!" The sky knight dashed onto the bridge just as Finn and Junko stumbled sleepily into the room as well. "What did you sound the alarm for?"

The green pilot pointed to the navigator, who had her hands over her face and was visibly shaking. The redhead dashed over and knelt before her.

"Piper, what's wrong?"

"It's Mira! She's gone!"

"What?" He recoiled in disbelief.

"It's all my fault! We snuck out to get her pets on Reveria. We landed to finish our last - minute planning and she disappeared! Aerrow, the _Raptors_ took her!"

"The Raptors?" cried Junko in alarm. He immediately began sobbing as Finn patted one of the wallop's huge arms, the sharpshooter's sapphire gaze also wide in horror.

"We're gonna rescue her," declared Aerrow, rising to his feet and pulling Piper up by the hand. "Finn, you're coming too. Storm Hawks, move out!"

"What about me?" Protested the distraught wallop.

"You and Stork are going to get her pets," replied their leader.

"Wait!" The group looked at Piper as she began to dig in the bag still slung over her shoulder. "Here's the map we made. She has three cats: two at her aunt's house and one at her dad's. _Please_ save them."

"Hold on a sec-" started Junko, but Piper, Aerrow and Finn had already darted off toward the hangar. He turned his stare to Stork, who was wearing a look of perpetual stress and annoyance. "What's a cat?"

Stork shrugged.

-xXxXx-

"**Y**_ou're_ new around here." The creature gave a huge grin, his finger - length teeth glinting in the light. "How long have you been a Storm Hawk?"

His hostage didn't respond, her bluish - gray eyes wide and her lips drawn tightly. The creature addressing her was twice her size. His body was coated in thick scales of a sickly green color, and his muscular shoulders were nearly as far across as she was tall. His long fingers gave way to the long black claws that her gaze had fallen on. She swallowed in terror and one of the other three creatures- the one holding onto her wrists -jerked her roughly.

"Answer when spoken to," the leader snapped again in his rasping, deep voice. She pulled back, but refused to reply.

"Hey, Boss," said the shortest (and widest) of the three from behind the girl. "Doesn't she look kinda familiar?"

The leader opened his mouth to snap a response, then stopped. He trained his gaze on the hostage again, his pupils narrow slits as he scrutinized her face for a long moment. Abruptly she turned a shade paler and stiffened. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at her actions.

"What'th the matter, Both?" lisped the thinnest one, blinking his wide yellow eyes. She cringed as his claws raked the palms of her hands. "Do you recognithe her?"

"I'm not sure," he finally said, eyes narrowed in thought. He looked into her frightened stare, her pupils dilated with anxiety, for a good minute before turning back toward his door. "Lock her up until we get to Bogaton."

The cell door crashed shut as Mira fell to her knees inside.

"Don't try anything funny or Repton'll cook you for dinner," warned the tall, bulky one as she stared numbly at her hands.

"You'd be tasty!" observed the short, fat one, grinning widely. The big one glared at him and he blinked. "What?"

"Come on," muttered the big one, turning down the long chrome corridor. With a cheery nod the stocky one plodded after him. For a long moment Mira didn't move, rigid with apprehension. She then twisted around to peer over her shoulder. The blonde blinked, shocked to find the thin one still standing on the opposite side of the bars. His reptilian eyes flicked up to hers and he started in surprise to see her staring at him.

"What's your name?"

For a moment he looked too shocked to answer. "Thpith."

"Spitz?" He nodded quickly. "And your leader is Repton?" He nodded again, big eyes fixed on her striking cyan ones. "Who are the others?"

"Hoerk and Leugey. They're my brotherth," he added in his lisp.

"All three?" As he nodded she pressed, "Why is Repton in charge?"

After a second the littlest Raptor shrugged. "He alwayth hath been." She smiled understandingly and nodded. He swallowed self-consciously as she turned back to gaze at her hands. "Thorry about him," muttered the creature, looking at the floor. "I hope he doethn't hurt you."

"Thanks," she whispered softly. He opened his mouth to be cut off by the prisoner. "I won't falsely befriend you to gain your trust. You don't deserve it."

She clasped her long fingers, eyes downcast as he walked off, his tail curled in disbelief.

-xXxXx-

"**I**s this the place?" The wallop blinked as he turned the map in his hands. "It looks like it…" He looked at Stork, whose pointed ears were back in annoyance. The pilot only looked away, so Junko shrugged and walked up to the door.

"DON'T!" The merb lurched forward and grabbed his friend's fist before he could knock. "You'll break the door down!"

"Oh. Whoopsie." Stork rolled his eyes in irritation. A moment later he was cringing as a spider scuttled away before pushing the kitchen window open.

"How ya doin', Stork?" called the wallop as he stared up at the greenish creature perched on the windowsill.

"I can't _do_ this!" he exclaimed in hushed exasperation.

"Why not?"

"_Because, _this place is a _death trap_!" He stared down in horror at the moldy bowl of food in the neglected sink and the cupful of knives glinting on the counter beside it.

"Aw, I'm sure you're just overreacting." Junko delivered a hearty pat to Stork's back and sent him shooting across the room. Brushing himself off, he stood up and attempted to straighten the pictures on the wall he'd collided with. He then slouched over to the door and unlocked it, stepping clear as the wallop tiptoed in. "Hmm. Nice house."

"Yeah. Whatever. Can we just find them and get out of here?"

His friend shrugged his huge shoulders. "They're probably hiding. I mean, wouldn't you be scared if a bunch of strangers came in your house at night?"

The pilot considered for a moment. "Not really. I'd probably be dead by now anyway." Junko observed him for a moment, looking somewhere between bemused and oblivious. He peered under the table.

"Here, kitty kitty," he whispered. Stork gave him a curious look with his big yellow eyes. "Well, that's what you call when you want sky lions or dragon cats to come to you." His green companion made a noncommittal noise and the bigger of the two proceeded to the living room. "Here kitty! Here kitty kitty!" He hefted the sofa up and squinted under it. Something small and fluffy stared up at him, its tail as big around as a small tree-trunk. "There you are!"

Shifting his grip to hold the couch up with one arm, he reached for it with the other. It shot off down the hallway.

"I almost had 'er," he mumbled sadly.

"Uh- _her_?"

"Well, yeah. It was _obviously_ a her." He started off down the hallway after it, whacking a lamp that Stork raced over to catch. "Just look for two fuzzy things."

Stork cleared his throat. "Here, kitty kitty." Pulling back the shower curtain he grimaced at the mold there.

"Here, kitty." Junko looked in the fridge and gazed down the sink. "Kitties?" A soft click sounded as he squinted down the garbage disposal. "Hey, Stork? What was- oh."

Standing at the kitchen door was an elderly man in a long nightgown and sporting a tattered nightcap. His bloodshot eyes betrayed his irritation. So did the rather large shotgun in his hands.

The pair of Storm Hawks hurtled out the door screaming as bullets whistled past them and into the hedge.

-xXxXx-

**T**he door swung open, letting the laughter, shouts, and crashing momentarily spill into the streets. Piper, Aerrow, and Finn ducked behind a clump of trees as a burly, dark-skinned man stumbled out and landed in the road. He hiccupped loudly and his eyes fell shut.

"Uh-" The hiding navigator cast a wary glance at her two companions. "-guys, not to be difficult, but isn't there somewhere else we could go for directions?"

"Piper, everybody else is in bed," replied the leader, green eyes glowing for a moment as the doors opened and another intoxicated patron tumbled out. Finn winced as he tripped on the first guy and went down next to him. "They wouldn't have seen anything. Besides, these guys look like a… helpful crowd."

Stepping cautiously over the drunk, unconscious bundles in the dirt, the blonde and the female followed the redhead through the swinging doors. The sharpshooter squeaked as he dodged a beer bottle that hit the wall behind him.

Despite the chaos raging before him, Aerrow lifted a finger and opened his mouth to get someone's attention.

"Hey!" Frowning at being interrupted, the young knight turned to find the voice. Standing against the wall was a stocky, middle-aged guy with a greenish moustache and a cowboy hat on. "How old are you punks?"

A moment later the trio was merely an addition to the heap of rejects already sitting in front of the building. Finn squirmed underneath Piper. "Guys? Whatta we do? Mira's gonna get pulverized! Or they're gonna eat her, or they're gonna give her to Cyclonia, OR-"

"FINN!" The redhead shook him by the shoulders. "Calm down! We're going to find her. Promise."

Finn gave an unconvinced squeak.

"This is my fault," Piper murmured, her clear voice shaking with agony. The boys climbed off of her and Aerrow pulled her gently to her feet. "I'm responsible for her capture, so I'm going to be responsible for her rescue. We need to make a preemptive strike; infiltrate their ship before they get her back to Terra Bogaton." Her eyes darted back and forth in thought and she suddenly gasped. "That's it!"

Relief sparkled in the sky knight's forest green eyes. "What's your plan?"

"Follow me." Without a moment's hesitation she darted off into the darkness. The blonde stared helplessly at his leader, pupils wide with fear for the hostage.

"She'll be fine," Aerrow assured him, putting a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "I just hope she doesn't try to escape herself…"

-xXxXx-

**O**n the Raptor flagship Mira gritted her teeth, sawing furiously at the lock on her cell door. She'd already surmised that her life could very possibly be over, so when she sat down in a pile of bones hidden by shadow, she was more irritated than shocked. As she began poking at the padlock, however, the alarm she'd been suppressing began to gnaw its way out of its tight ball in the pit of her stomach. "Come on…" she hissed, sawing furiously at the rusted mechanism with one of the ribs she had accidentally seated herself on a moment before. Halting, she looked up. The _tick-tick_ of hind claws on the floor were distant but growing, and she quietly scrambled backward and leaned against the wall, shoving the bone up under her shirt. The girl fixed her eyes on a bolt in the floor, sucking in a breath and trying to look dazed. At the far and lit end of the hall, the biggest lizard-creature, Hoerk, clomped to a stop and glared down in her direction. Her blonde head jerked up and she stared at him in fright. For a moment his slitted pupils bored into hers, not quite intelligent enough to be scrutinizing but smart enough to be suspicious. He then turned and walked the other way. Exhaling with relief, the prisoner squeezed her eyes shut to listen to the vanishing footsteps. As soon as they were gone, she was sawing furiously at the lock once more.

"Come on, baby, come on…" she then paused. "I can't believe it. I just said 'baby.'" She then gave a shrug, repositioned the rib in her grip, and gave another vehement slice. The flimsy steel gave way. "Yes!" whispered she, carefully reaching through the bars and pulling the lock off. For a moment Mira debated whether to take the bone with her, then decided against it, sliding it across the floor toward the rest of the pile. She heaved the door open and crept carefully out.

-xXxXx-

"**O**kay. We're _definitely_ at the right place this time!"

"I hope so."

"Aww, come on, Stork. Don't be so negative. At least we know what a cat looks like now." With a roll of his eyes the merb allowed the wallop to give him a boost, yanking the window open and clambering inside. His pupils dilated in the darkness and he hopped down with a grunt.

"Well," he whispered to himself insipidly, "at least we're not dead yet." He scanned the over - decorated living room for a door and located it. He slouched over and was reaching for the dirty knob when a blinking light caught his eye. "Hmm. Security system." He popped the top of the box up and inspected the wires with intelligent flicks of his yellow gaze. "Pretty low-tech though." He yanked a cord off, popped it in at another spot, and closed it. He hit a button on the panel and the light went off. Smirking proudly, he returned to opening the door for the Storm Hawk outside.

"Junko!"

"Hmm? Oh." The creature had been observing a potted plant of some sort, prodding at one of its delicate flowers with an oversized finger. He straightened and cautiously stepped inside. "Let's be more careful this time," he instructed with childish diction. He tiptoed around the card table in front of him and made for a doorway across the room. With another annoyed sigh Stork crept after him. They went through the garage, (not without Stork complaining of the myriad of diseases crawling beneath their feet,) and came out another doorway that led into the kitchen. The merb was just entering, glaring back at the filthy concrete, when he crashed into his large friend with a grunt. He was bent over, eyes huge. He held a finger to his lips. "Shhh."

Crunching away with its small, downy face in a bowl next to the oven was a small creature. It had snowy-white fur covered in black blotches. It heard Junko, of course, and looked up. Its green eyes widened and the fur on its back shot up.

"Hey there," cooed the wallop, extending his arms and kneeling carefully down as the linoleum groaned under his weight. "Here kitty, kitty. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a wallop."

And the cat shot off down the hallway.

"Well, we tried," said the merb with a passive shrug. "We better head back before they miss us."

"Stork! We have to bring Mira's pets back! Come on, let's go." Before he could move of his own power, Junko was dragging Stork after the cat. He released the greenish Hawk only after a slew of angry protests and left him to nurse his throbbing wrist. The wallop started his exaggerated tiptoeing again when he hit the carpet, although the floorboards screamed in protest anyway. "Here, kitty! Come to Uncle Junko!"

Along one of the walls sat a magazine rack, just below a picture of a round woman suffocating a small child with an iron-gripped hug. He looked like anyone would in such a situation: attempting to smile while striving not to scream. The merb grimaced at it; no doubt recalling a similar situation from his own past. Junko, however, obliviously ignored it, kneeling down and hefting the object up without as much as a grunt. The strip of shadow along the carpet was so dark that nothing was visible until a tiny hiss emanated from the spot.

"Stork, grab her!"

"What?" His eyes widened and he stepped forward. "Why me?"

"Because," insisted the larger of the two, letting the magazine rack crash back down and galumphing toward the feline as it skittered off, "I can't catch her!" He opened a door and disappeared through it before Stork could advise him otherwise.

"Junko? What are you doing? That could be a bedroom!" exclaimed the distraught carrier pilot as he barreled after the wallop.

"Don't worry, nobody's here," he whispered back in his usual cheery tone. The merb slapped his face and dragged his khaki-colored fingers down it in agony. "I just don't get it. She's so skittish…"

A screech made the wallop jump. He put the bed down he'd been looking under and turned around. A grin lit his face. "Oh. _There_ they are!"

Stork was trembling, his face contorted in terror and disgust. At his feet sat a huge ginger cat, rumbling contentedly and rubbing his cheek against the disturbed Hawk's ankle. Atop the merb's head the tiny heifer-patterned cat was perched. It was also purring with its miniature engine. "Get them off. Get them off!"

"Aww. Are you kidding? They love ya." Stork only twitched. "Let's go get the other one." Beaming, he shouldered past his comrade and headed toward the door and his skimmer parked in the yard.

-xXxXx-

**A**errow blinked at his reflection. "Uh … Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"Um … do you really think this is going to work?"

"Of course it will! It's foolproof."

As if on cue, Finn tripped over a spool of thread, crashed into a stack of boxes, and toppled over with a girlish scream.

The gold-eyed girl blinked. "Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words. It's… fail - safe."

"But- I-" The redhead turned to his navigator, his reluctance to risk insulting her tempered by his doubts. "-uh, well I'm - I'm sure it's better than most people could come up with on such short notice. It's - it's great, really. But I'm sure the tailors who work here wouldn't mind if we used a _little_ of their stuff to make more appropriate disguises."

"It's for a good cause," Finn put in from where he sat in a pile of squished cardboard and yarn. The girl gave him an annoyed look and turned back to the sky knight.

"Aerrow, we can't. It just isn't right. We're already trespassing; we can't steal from them too! Besides, what's wrong with these?"

"Piper?" She glowered down again at the blonde on the floor. He pointed at himself. "I'm a sheep."

"Well, what's wrong with that? You're our pet!"

"People don't keep _sheep_, Piper!"

"Yes they do!"

"GUYS! Let's not get hostile. Finn: Piper's doing her best."

Finn looked annoyed.

"And Piper: are you sure we can't spare a few pieces of fabric?"

"I _am_, Aerrow. Mira wouldn't want us to steal on her behalf."

"Mira would want us to _save_ her!" The sharpshooter contradicted, sky-blue eyes wide and pleading. "I don't care anymore! Let's just go already!"

The knight thought for a moment, biting his lip. "Fine. Move out." The three raced out the door and into the night.

Back at the pub, the laughter and shouts continued, as well as a few peculiar wails that were attempts at singing. (And although none said it, the trio thought it sounded eerily similar to a dying sky walrus.)

"Ready?" Aerrow turned to the blonde pale boy and the dark - skinned black-haired girl. Both traded glances and nodded.

Piper squinted against the light as she followed Aerrow into the establishment. She was clad in a Cyclonian suit, pillowcases and clothing stuffed in to hide her feminine curves and replacing them with middle - aged love handles. Orange Talon goggles also covered her eyes, and a fake goatee tickled her lower lip. The sky knight striding ahead of her hardly looked like the adolescent she knew.

Granted, he didn't look like your usual pub-goer either.

A (very fake-looking) brown wig sat on Aerrow's head and a matching moustache (out of a goodie-bag from a birthday party) was taped to his face. He was wearing old, tattered clothes and sunglasses. The doorman gave him a distrustful look but didn't stop the peculiar procession.

At least, not until Finn came in.

As a matter of fact, the whole place stopped talking when Finn came in.

"Hey you. You little punks." It was the door-guard, eyes on the third of the party.

The redhead cleared his throat inconspicuously. "What?" He demanded in a deep voice. Another man - a rough-looking guy with a tequila sitting in front of him - spoke first.

"Is that a SHEEP?" A small rumble of snickering rippled out across the room. The guard's stare remained cold, however, and Finn grinned nervously.

"Ba-a-a-a-a!" he bleated.

The guard raised an eyebrow.

"No? How 'bout be-e-e-e-er?"

Piper slapped a hand to her face.

With shouts, the three flew out the door, landing on the pile of unconscious men lying outside. Roars of laughter followed them out until the doors slammed shut. Piper gave an angry sigh and Finn gagged as the odor off one of the men's breath hit him in the face. The redhead stared at the ground for a second before leaping up, determination hardening his face. "All right. If they want to make this hard, we can play tough. No more funny business." He turned to the pair sprawled out behind him, one a sheep and the other an overweight male. He ripped his moustache off and fixed them with an intense stare.

"Back to the Condor, Storm Hawks. We're doing this _my_ way."

The two scrambled to their feet and raced off after him into the night.

-xXxXx-

**T**he eerie, pale light flickered on and off, making a buzzing noise echo dully down the halls. It sounded like the flapping of wings; like the mindless, methodical attempts to continue with normal life when time has ticked out for a small insect. Mira crept closer to the hallway with the nearest of these dimming lights. Her eyes were locked wide open, pupils huge and nostrils flared. Her hair had been re-tied behind her head to get it our of her eyes, and most of it had stayed. The girl's movements were lithe and catlike; her mind empty and alert. If she was to get out, she could afford no mistakes. Her footfalls were slow and hesitant. At first she only took one every minute. As she crept, she progressed, keeping her boots silent but gaining speed minutely. The blood no longer rushed in her ears. Terror no longer clenched at her throat. It was still there; yet its talons had relaxed and barely brushed her neck as it slept somewhere in the back of her consciousness.

Whoever had given this vessel to the raptors was either foolish or had phenomenal insurance, the adolescent thought as she moved methodically over the steel hallways. Dents and breaks sprinkled the wall panels, and she'd been dripped on by pipes numerous times. Some type of mutant-ish arachnid had tottered by while she watched too. She didn't know where she was going - only that she had to hide somewhere. She was sure if the Storm Hawks came to her rescue, or _when_ they came to her rescue, that she'd be able to hear the sounds of combat from wherever she went. The hallways seemed to be endless, but there was no need to keep track of where she was going as she had no intention of returning to her cell. She stopped as she reached the end of the hallway. It was silent. Or it seemed so. Mira held her breath and closed her eyes.

_Zzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzzzzt._

Good; nothing but the lights flickering.

In a tentative movement, she peered around the corner.

To her relief it was empty.

Straightening up, she put her back to the wall and leaned. She slipped around the corner, landing carefully on her right foot. She allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. But honestly, she speculated as she pitched forward and let her weight begin to move, what was there to worry about? Repton was competent, besides being a megalomaniacal lizard. But a carrot could contend with Leugey at your standard game show, and a good carrot and a half could contend with Hoerk. Spitz… well, he was the most sympathetic, oddly so. Regrettably, that didn't make him smart either. She had reached a door now, and was directly beneath the flickering light. She crept across the hall and pressed her ear against the door. The icy steel was a striking contrast to the heat radiating off her overworking body and she jerked back. She took a breath and leaned against it again.

…

Silence.

It could be a closet or the boiler room; the perfect place to hide. She clenched her pale hand around the handle, the cords standing out on her knuckles. She wrenched it open with all her might and pushed.

Reddish light spilled out through the opening and she heaved again. It looked like there were messy countertops inside; the stench of rotting food wafted out.

And then Leugey, Spitz, and Hoerk were gawking at her.

"Hey! How'd you get out?" demanded the burly Hoerk, towering over and frowning down at her.

"Did you forget to lock it?" questioned Leugey in his slow-witted way.

"I got a bored with the scenery," Mira muttered snidely, fear and frustration making her sarcastic. "But compared to you it wasn't that bad."

The cell door slammed shut as the prisoner stumbled back in, dropping to her knees and landing awkwardly on her side. She gave a little grunt and squirmed against the ropes around her wrists. Hoerk snapped two padlocks into place before putting his enormous hands on his scaly sides. "Do it again and we'll get Repton," he threatened gruffly.

"Yeah. Then we'll get appetizers!" Leugey exclaimed happily. "Ouch!" he added, elbowed sharply by the bigger raptor.

"Come on," he ordered again, and the two thundered off to resume their snacking.

The blonde pursed her lips in frustration, her heart racing furiously. With a grunt she rolled onto her stomach and folded like an accordion, maneuvering herself into a feeble sitting position and wincing with pain. She shouldn't have been shocked to see Spitz peering curiously inside, but she was.

Humiliated, she snapped, "What?"

"You… that wathn't thmart! Do you wanna get yourthelf killed?"

"No. I want out." He had turned to leave when she murmured, "Do you think the Storm Hawks have a chance of rescuing me?"

Obviously not a philosopher of foresight, he blinked rapidly and thought about it. He shrugged. "They uthually do."

"Maybe with you as leader they wouldn't."

The smallest raptor stared at her suspiciously. Her eyes were unreadable, but she seemed honest. "That'th not up to me," he eventually said simply. But his tail was once again curled up with shock and bewilderment as he turned and walked the other way.

-xXxXx-

"**H**ey! For the last time, you kids aren't gettin' in here!" The door guard glared at the trio standing in the doorway, eyes hard with irritation at their third attempt to enter the pub. By now the drinkers were getting annoyed as well, shooting them dirty looks and shouting obscenities as Finn cowered behind his sky knight. Somebody whistled as Piper squeezed in beside the two. She made a point of shooting him a dirty look.

"Oh yeah?" Aerrow raised an eyebrow. In a swift motion he pulled his blades out, zapping to life as Piper raised her staff and Finn aimed his crossbow at the nearest guy.

With a growl the guard ripped his hat off and lunged at the sky knight. As he did, he pulled a baseball bat off of the over - decorated wall beside him. Shouting, he drew it back and swung. Aerrow jumped forward and raised his blades in defense just in time to block. As they crashed together, electricity from the daggers shot through the aluminum bat and the man's eyes widened in outrage and dismay. He grunted as he was electrocuted, sparks dancing across his skin, before stumbling back against the wall as he dropped his weapon. "Let me at him," shouted a dark - skinned man, standing up with enough force to send his chair clattering to the floorboards. He charged at the sneering boy, raising his bottle and giving an angry shout. Piper streaked out, raising her staff and blocking with a cry. He blinked, stunned, and she took the opportunity to spin her weapon in her hand before jabbing him in the stomach with the end. He gave a winded yell and hit the ground with a thump.

"You little brat," bellowed a rather large woman, (who upon first glance could have passed for a male.) "Nobody touches my husband!"

The minute she grabbed her purse to make her assault, it was ripped from her hands and skewered on the wall by one of Finn's arrows. The bar was immediately thrown into chaos as the sloshed citizens converged on the unwelcome newcomers, crashing and flashes of electricity filling the entire street. Only a moment later the fray had ceased; dust and ceiling plaster falling like a weatherman had forecasted it. And it cleared to reveal a shock of red hair and bright green eyes staring down at the doorman below him. He gritted his teeth, flinching away from the blade at his throat. The sky knight's lips curved in a smirk of triumph.

"I think that's checkmate."

"Fine. Fine! You can stay!" An unconscious man blinked awake and sat up. Piper delivered a jab to his temple with her staff and he thumped back to the floor.

"We're only dropping in," corrected Aerrow, his heel still firmly below the man's ribcage. "Actually, we were wondering if you could help us with something."

"_Help_ you?" His gruff voice was thick with disgust.

"Um, yes." Aerrow pushed his sword a bit closer to the man's neck and he immediately looked more willing to help. "Have any raptors been through here recently?"

-xXxXx-

"**Y**es!" Violently squirming, Mira worked the ropes off of her wrists. She grunted as her eyes flicked across the rope burns all over her skin before scrambling back into the corner and finding her rib. She silently moved back to the front of her cell and began her work on the second set of locks.

As soon as they popped off, she pulled the door open and crept out. Now knowing where _not_ to go, she headed off to the left, careful to keep her center of gravity on the hind foot to keep from crashing to the floor and being discovered again. She had no idea how long she'd been in captivity, but she knew she had to hide until she could get out.

Dying lights zapped overhead as she hurried quietly down the hallways, her reflection on the floor and walls hurrying along with her. Once she ran into a dead - end in the form of a section of floor that had actually been ripped away and never replaced, leaving sparking wires and oily beams exposed underneath. But she'd come a long way since the last turn and knew she was closer to ducking in a doorway on the other side than going back.

Taking a deep breath and twisting her head to either side to loosen up her small, unused muscles, she prepared to go across. The wires were held together in clumps that seemed avoidable enough. The beams were another story entirely. They were wide enough to walk on, but slicked in foul - smelling grease. They were the only route, however, unless she intended to drop into the blackness between them. Where that led she didn't know and didn't want to know.

The toe of her boot clinked lightly on the iron support as she tested it. She put her whole foot down and shifted her weight onto it. Then she pulled it back.

Well, it wasn't slippery, at least.

But it was sticky. Ugh.

Stepping cautiously onto it, she took a step forward. It was too far from the wall for comfort, but it was the closest to it and would have to make - do. Holding her arms out for balance, she began moving across. The gap was about ten feet, but she only focused on the spot directly in front of her. _One foot before the other_, she coached silently. She didn't dare let herself get anxious or panicky. It paid off as she stepped up onto the other side.

Keeping her relief in check, she began to walk again. The majority of the lights were dim, buzzing uninterestedly, or totally off, which was quite a big help when sneaking around an enemy ship. It was shocking to be so calm in such a dire situation, but the girl knew it was more practical to stay as level - headed as she could. She rounded a corner and the feeling went away; replaced by mind - numbing horror.

Because standing in front of her, teeth bared in anger and eyes narrowed in shock, was Repton himself. His first word started as a deep growl, and it made a shiver go down her spine.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I- uh-" She tried to swallow, but her throat had doubled closed.

"This is outrageous," he hissed, darting forward and grabbing the neck of her shirt. He towered over the tiny girl, and his strength became apparent too as he pulled her off the ground to glare into her face. "How did you get out?"

"Don't touch me," she half - threatened and half - pleaded. But her eyes weren't on his three - inch - long claws at her throat. He noted that and stared at her in suspicion.

"Why not?" It seemed like a stupid question, but her answer made it apparent that it had been the right one to ask.

"You don't want to." She then muttered something nearly unintelligible, which sounded remotely like _Besides, you don't have any popcorn._

"You insolent little-" he stopped short of tearing her face off and his eyes widened. "Wait. What would I see? Tell me!"

"No," she shot back childishly. He gave her a violent shake and growled in fury. Suddenly he fell silent and blinked in realization. Picking up on it, Mira's stony - blue eyes widened. "What? What is it?"

"I know where I've seen you before," he muttered in disbelief. "I know who you are."

"Uh, no you don't," she argued feebly.

"Mira, right? Ah, so you're not a Storm Hawk. The Stork Hawks are _protecting_ you." Her face had turned two shades paler and the dried sweat on her forehead began to return. He gave a deep snicker, one that reverberated in his enormous chest. "Wait until Cyclonis hears about this."

"Wait." She was struggling to keep her voice within normal range.

"Whatever for? She'll be delighted to know I've got you safe and sound."

"But why hand me over to her? How do you know you'll even get rewarded?" For a minute he didn't seem to care, but his scaly brow furrowed in thought.

"I'm listening," he hissed. For the first time, she noticed that his forked tongue came out at every s - sound he made.

"Wouldn't I be of use to you somehow? As in, couldn't you tell her you've got information about me and will only give it up for a price?" Now he looked genuinely surprised, his yellowish eyes seeming to ask, _why hadn't I thought of that?_

"I don't know how this benefits you," he finally hissed, and his slitted pupils flicked up to her wide ones. "But it certainly benefits me. Thank you for your ingenuity."

"Uh… you're welcome?" She smiled nervously.

With a crash the cell door slammed shut a third time, leaving the girl grumbling again. Her hands _and_ feet were tied up this time, making an escape a bit more difficult. Hungry and exhausted, she squeezed her eyes shut in defeat. As she opened them and stared numbly at the wall, the thought that she might not be rescued awoke in the back of her mind, gave a long stretch, and began to waft forward into her consciousness. It was miraculous that her existence wouldn't be made known to Cyclonia, but what a group of merciless rogues might do held as much dark promise. Piper's words echoed in her mind: _Starling of the Interceptors. The rest of her squadron was killed by raptors- a lizard - like race that sees sky knights as appetizers._

"I don't wanna be an appetizer," she murmured to herself, sounding much like a scared five - year - old. She swallowed and two tears streaked down her face: one resting on the side of her nose and the other stopping at the cold floor her cheek rested against. "I want to go home."

It was in that very moment that she realized something that shocked her. She didn't long for her aunt's stuffy house or for her tiny junior high that was shambles even more so now than when the last levy was voted down. The picture hanging in her mind was one of long metal hallways, a bedroom so new to her that none of her belongings were yet unpacked in it, and five faces that gazed at her without prejudice and with the kindness of friendship. That place was now home.

-xXxXx-

"**U**h, Junko? How many failures will it take to prove that this strategy _isn't_ working?" The merb was wobbling to and fro on the wallop's shoulders once more, attempting to break another entering. The two cats were dancing gracefully around Junko's feet to avoid getting squashed and mewling adoringly up at Stork.

"What are you talking about? It worked fine before."

"_No_. It _didn't_." He thrust a finger loathsomely at the fluffy creatures. "_They're_ going to kill me with their Earth - fleas!"

"Aw, come on. Just get in there and work your magic." The wallop gave his friend a final boost, knocking him forward. Stork gave a breathy scream and flopped over the windowsill. His eyes were wrenched shut and his ears were back. He finally uncovered his face to find himself upside - down on a table. A decorative table at the front end of a long room with cathedral ceilings and pink tile. And his lungs hurt like there was a weight on them…

A weight?

Stork opened his eyes to see two big, yellow eyes staring back. The brown wooly face was blank and curious. "Uh… hello?"

The face meowed.

Stork let off a hoarse shout and the cat scampered frantically away.

"Hey! Did you find him?" called Junko eagerly from below. Stork wrenched his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples, suppressing the urge to severely wound the daft ballistics expert. Suddenly there was a huge creak behind him and he yelled again, catapulting off the table and whipping around to see what had happened. Junko was trying to haul himself through the window. In his attempt, he had done a sort of pull - up, and the windowsill had suffered the consequences. On the outside, the shingles were bent and crunched, and on the inside, the frame had splintered. Stork uttered a long stream of colorful words as he dragged his hand down his face in frustration before whipping back around to look for the furry abomination.

"Look, Stork! I made it up!" He swung himself inside and his feet hit the floor. The plates rattled in the cupboards and the chandelier shook.

"_Great_," hissed the merb. "Let's just go, okay? Before we die."

"Okay!" cried Junko cheerily.

Stork stalked off.

The dining room opened into the kitchen, and both branched off into hallways. Junko crashed down one route before the carrier pilot could stop him. (He had his finger up and his mouth open, but lowered it and twisted his green face into its usual scowl as he slouched off the other way.)

"Kitty?" The wallop hesitated, pulling a picture off the wall and reading the back. "Apollo?"

"Here, kitty, kitty." Stork yanked a closet open with a grunt to see the washing machine and the dryer. "Here, kitty, kitty."

"Apollo? Where are ya, little guy?" Junko picked a bookshelf up and looked under it. "Hmm. Not here."

"Here, kitty, kitty." The merb knelt down and looked under a bed skirt. His eyes got huge as something long - legged and four - eyed skittered off and he jumped back.

Finally the two met up at the top of the stairs.

"I don't see him anywhere," exclaimed Junko, grayish - brown eyes wide in bewilderment. "Maybe he's hiding downstairs." Before waiting for Stork's input, he thumped down the carpeted steps. He took immediately to looking under the sofa, under the television, and under the computer desk. Stork was leaning against the wall; his arms crossed and frowning at the other two cats mewling excitedly at him from the glass door, when he heard something. His long ears pricked and he looked up.

Above his head was a faint scraping noise that was progressing across the ceiling in the wallop's direction. (He was currently looking down a lampshade to the chorus of 'here, little guy' he'd recently taken up.)

"Junko," called the pilot in a singsongy rasp. When the large creature gave him an inquisitive look, he aimed a finger at the cheap plaster overhead. "In the ceiling!"

"Ohhh." He walked over to the precise spot Stork had pointed to, and before the merb could stop him, he'd smashed his fist into it with an ear - splitting crash. Stork shouted and jumped back, and the nonchalant tapping in the ceiling became a frantic scramble as the feline escaped his attackers. "Where'd he go?"

"There!" Stork was pointing again before he realized what he was doing. The wallop raced over and jammed his oversized knuckles into the plaster again, this time with a forceful cry. Stork covered his eyes.

"I got him, I got him!" He whacked into the corner, making a hole where the wall and the ceiling met. Something sprinted off in the opposite direction above them, and down a dark hallway there was a crash, a thud, and scraping of little nails on concrete. Junko grinned as the wooly thing exited the hallway and proceeded back up the steps.

"No!" Hissed Stork as Junko pounded up after the cat. There were three crashes before the merb could reach the upper floor of the house. The cat zoomed one way and Junko raced after it. The cat zoomed the other way and Junko doubled back to race after it again. It went downhill when the feline turned its luminous, wild - eyed stare at Stork and streaked in his direction. He screamed as it hit his head and Junko knocked them down.

After a moment the wallop opened his eyes. With an "ouch" he rubbed his head. Only when something cleared its throat below him he looked down. He blinked at the flattened carrier pilot in surprise. "Oh! Didn't see ya there." With a chuckle he found his feet and brushed himself off. He then set Stork upright as well. A perpetual grimace was once again set upon the greenish pilot's features. As was a brown, traumatized cat. "Great! Let's go!"

The larger of the two fisted the front of the merb's shirt, dragging him out the same window they'd entered just as the chandelier crashed from the ceiling and a potted tree fell over.

-xXxXx-

"**F**inally!" breathed Aerrow in relief, the night wind buffeting his ruby hair as he accelerated northwest through the sky. "We're makin' some headway."

"I hope she'll forgive me," murmured Piper from her heliscooter beside Aerrow.

"I just hope she's okay," put in Finn, and Aerrow glanced over at Piper to see her looking more worried than before. He was relieved, when his eyes flicked back to the horizon, to see a huge greenish ship coming into view.

"Get ready. We're almost there."

The three revved their engines and sped into the darkness.

"Why are you interrupting me at this late hour?"

The voice was low and angry, but eerily young and velvety as well. It made Repton shudder as he held the mouthpiece between his long, scaly fingers.

"I have an interesting development on an old superstition."

"And this was pressing enough a matter to awaken me?"

He could feel her dark, hardened eyes boring into the darkness. He swallowed and continued.

"There was a prophecy made long ago foretelling a child of unfathomable power."

"Made by a man from Terra Rex? I do believe I've read of it."

She sat on a chair made of black crystal, her small delicate frame contorted by her crossed legs and the twist of her back. Her long, pale fingers extended to their full lengths and the air distorted with a snap. The blackness was pierced by a glow of blinding violet; a small shape that writhed with her twisting fingers. It glinted off the armor on a single, still figure that watched from the shadows. She brought them gracefully together and the glow vanished, making her deep black pits of pupils absorb the air around her. She opened her hand and the air snapped alive again.

"I have retrieved some information that might confirm that theory," hissed Repton's static coated voice into the earpiece.

"I expect you intend to disclose it." It was less of a question than a threat.

"Perhaps. For … a price."

The light went out.

"Remember that only your loyalty keeps me from obliterating your terra," she cooed in an unnervingly calm voice.

"My offer stands," he crackled back. A screech made her wince and pull the earpiece from her thick hair.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"I- I'm not sure. I-" Another crash interrupted him and the line went dead.

The girl hung her end up and narrowed her eyes in the blackness. Something, something linked to an ancient and ominous legend, wasn't right. Master Cyclonis vowed to find out what.

"Boss! What's going on?" Hoerk, Spitz and Leugey dashed onto the bridge as their leader stared at the control panels in alarm. Red and blue lights were flashing everywhere and a thousand warning beeps echoed through the room. Their leader turned around, eyes blazing and his tail lashing. He pulled his weapon from its sheath - a jagged, curved blade with a handle in the center.

"Let's find out."

"All right! Woo hoo!" The blond sharpshooter thrust a fist in the air, grinning at his perfect shot into the hull of the ship. It was directly over the bridge - the control room - and there were undoubtedly a million and two censors and alarms tripped and blaring chaotically inside.

"Nice shot," shouted Piper, awarding Finn one of her rare compliments.

"Nice work, Finn," agreed Aerrow from his skimmer. "We'll draw them out. Piper, go rescue Mira." She gave a solemn nod and sped off around the back of the raptors' vessel. It was only a moment later that two sets of jet streams emerged from the runway and turned upward toward them. Two reptilian cries rang out into the night, and the two Storm Hawks exchanged a glance. "Ready?" called Aerrow.

"Ready," Finn shouted back. He accelerated toward them as the sky knight shot off to the left - opposite Piper's direction. Leugey continued towards Finn, and Hoerk broke off to pursue Aerrow.

The sharpshooter glanced back at Leugey, gradually gaining on him in the late - night moonlight. Twisting in his seat, he cupped a hand to his mouth. "Catch me if ya can!"

"Okay," called the slow - witted lizard, and Finn twisted the accelerator. He rocketed through the moonlit clouds until he was far ahead of the raptor before starting into a wide turn and doubling back to face his enemy. He only had to wait a moment before the bike appeared through the clouds, and in a matter of clicks and folding metal, his crossbow rose out of the hood of his skimmer. Bending down, he closed one eye and focused the other through the lenses. Once he had Leugey's engine in range, he pulled the trigger. In a matter of seconds, the arrow had speared through the bike, and the raptor was shouting in disbelief as his ride sputtered to a stop in midair.

"Uh-oh," he had time to mutter before he and his bike plummeted through the sky.

"Yeah!" shouted Finn, blue eyes luminous with excitement. "Have a nice fall!"

Aerrow glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened to see his pursuer only a few dozen yards behind him. "When did their rides get so fast?" he growled, speeding up and leaning into the wind. "And as a matter of fact, when did they get a _ship_?"

His thoughts were cut short when a flash of light blinded him and whipped past his head. "Whoa!" He ducked, and he blinked as a lock of his bright red hair shot past. Looking up, he spotted the culprit: a boomerang, the raptor weapon of choice. It looped far around him, and he didn't have to look to know that Hoerk caught it and was ready to hurl it again. He cut the engine and dipped straight down, making the lizard grunt in shock. The blast of air momentarily took his breath away and he barely had the strength to crack his eyes open against it. When he did, he knew he had to act quickly.

Revving the engine once more, he veered sharply up, back in Hoerk's direction. The knight gritted his teeth in concentration, and a second later, the raptor was barreling through a cloud before him, yelling in surprise.

Aerrow leapt onto his seat, drawing and activating one of his blades. It chirped to life just as the raptor's ride came beside him. He plunged it into the wing and it dragged through with a metallic screech. Hoerk shot by, his bike zapping loudly as it short - circuited. He had just enough time to leap off and pull his parachute cord before it exploded, lighting the sky for miles and making Aerrow squint as he grinned back at the sight. Suddenly something was whizzing toward him, and he barely twisted around in time to deflect the boomerang before it lopped his head off. It tumbled down through the clouds and he gave a sigh of weak relief.

"Storm Hawks: one, raptors: none," he mused smugly to himself. Then his green eyes grew big, the moon glinting off of them as he was hit by horrid realization.

"Wait a minute. Where are the others?"

It had been the sky knight's plan to lure all the raptors from the ship to ensure Piper's safety as she located and freed Mira. It was apparent, however, that Repton hadn't left. _They're getting smarter,_ he thought grimly, and accelerated up toward their vessel. He only hoped Piper would find Mira before Repton found _her_.

Indeed, the navigator was hurrying through the corridors of the ship. Being exceedingly knowledgeable on ship anatomy made it far easier for her to pick her way through than it would be for ay other member of her squadron. Every hallway that wasn't completely devoid of light was flashing with some sort of tripped alarm, and that also made it easier to sneak around. With most ships, the boiler room was either to the right of or directly below the cells. She hoped fervently that this theory was right as she turned another of a hundred corners, and her eyes lit up at what she'd found.

"Mira!" Her high - pitched voice squeaked with excitement.

"Piper? Piper!" The blonde squirmed into a position at which she could see her rescuer. "Thank God! No, thank _you_! Thank you _and_ God!"

Piper laughed as she raced over and pulled a small device from her pants - pocket. "Hold on, I'll have you out in a sec."

The prisoner looked more than willing to wait. She sighed heavily as her dark - skinned savior worked quickly and precisely to undo the lock.

"Almost got … there! Another perfectly - executed lock picking." She yanked the door back, grunting with the effort, and hopped over Mira to untie her bonds. "You okay?" She asked as soon as she'd finished.

"No, not really," responded the blonde shakily. "I _will_ be as soon as we get out of here."

"Right."

The two started off walking cautiously, then loping, then racing toward Piper's waiting heliscooter perched on the hull above.

"Where are we going?"

"The same way I came." The navigator glanced back at the Reverian girl, a yellow eyebrow cocked questioningly. "I have a lot of practice with the way carriers are built." This seemed to appease Mira, for her expression lightened and she nodded.

"Where's Aerrow?"

"He and Finn are keeping the raptors busy outside. And Junko and Stork are working on a … delivery of sorts."

"A delivery?" They turned a corner and went faster. "Like my kitties?" When a smile curved Piper's full lips, Mira gave a little trill of excitement.

"We just have to get up to the next floor and we'll be out," gasped the dark - skinned and dark - haired girl as she raced ahead of her friend.

The sky knight gave a fierce cry as he slashed at the lead raptor, their weapons meeting halfway between them. He grunted as he pushed against the Hawk, the gold current rushing over his blade sparking with the blue of Aerrow's. Repton pulled back and stabbed forward, but the redhead blocked with both blades, shaking against the force. Too quick for the creature to stop him, he delivered a hard kick to his stomach, sending the raptor stumbling back. The lizard hissed in rage and threw his arm up just in time to block the knight as he leapt forward, teeth bared.

"I know you're protecting her," he seethed, straining against the downward force of the Storm Hawk's blades. "I know she's the legendary child of the prophecy."

"Don't touch her," Aerrow snapped back. "Mira's with us!"

"Not anymore," Repton sneered, and suddenly stopped holding back. Aerrow fell forward before he could stop himself, and the raptor shoved him fiercely back, leaping to his feet. He bared his teeth as the sky knight stepped back into fighting stance once more. The two lurched at each other, howling with rage. Sparks flew as the boomerang hit the blades, making Aerrow duck and squeeze his eyes shut. Repton's curved blade began to hit Aerrow's with increasing force, driving the redhead back with every blinding, electrical step. The sparks shot out across the bridge, and nearby meters began beeping and needles swerved erratically over their dials. Aerrow's eyes became narrowed in concentration and fear as he backed up, and Repton's eyes grew more intense as he gained the upper hand. The knight grunted as he backed against the wall as the raptor took a step forward and raised his blade. Finn was outside, Junko and Stork were gone. There was nobody to help. A flicker passed through the lizard - creature's eyes - something eerie and eager to see his enemy's blood after so many defeats. Parting his rough lips, then his jagged teeth, he hissed, "Goodbye. Without you, your little friends will never save your precious Mira."

"Oh, yes they will," shouted a voice from behind the two.

Growling, the raptor spun around. His eyes widened in outrage. "_You_!"

"Yes, me." The girl was thin and tall with vivid purple hair and bright lime - green eyes.

Aerrow grinned in delight. Starling always had impeccable timing. She swung her glowing nunchucks around her hand, falling back into the nunjutsu fighting stance, then darted nimbly forward and had them wrapped around Repton's boomerang before he could pull it back. She jerked it sharply from his hand and flipped back, the soles of her boots hitting the ground lightly as she did. The lizard's slitted eyes narrowed as his boomerang gave a final zap and deactivated. With a prim smirk she grasped it by the handle and shoved it into her belt. He hissed and lunged as her, only to be kicked hard from behind. Repton crashed to the floor as Aerrow sheathed his blades and took a running leap over him. He joined the older sky knight, gazing at him in approval as she brushed a piece of purple hair from her face.

"Thanks," he gasped. She gave a gentle, delicate smile.

"Not a problem."

The two bolted down the hallway as a chunk of the ceiling cracked. Repton hissed in anger as it broke free and crashed down on top of him.

"Stop here," instructed Piper, skidding to a halt at the end of a long, steel corridor. Mira obeyed and peered at the small opening there. "This is a shaft for transporting supplies up to the living quarters," Piper explained quickly. "Just a push of the button and it's on its way."

"Why don't they just have elevators?"

"They're probably too expensive to keep running. Do you know how many people have get stuck in those when their mechanics aren't on board?"

"Oh."

"Well," the girl gestured with a dark hand at the small, rectangular opening. "You first."

The blonde started. "Me?"

"I have my staff. I can defend myself. You, on the other hand, can't. I don't want to leave you here where you could get ambushed."

"But we know for a fact that this floor is relatively safe. We don't know what's up there."

Piper gazed at Mira for a long moment.

"Y'know, I forgot what it's like to have another smart person around."

Stunned, Mira watched as Piper squeezed herself into the shaft and stuck her hand out to push the little button on the panel beside it. A moment later, she was gone.

And the moment the blonde's protection was twenty feet above, she could hear footsteps behind her.

Whirling around, her eyes widened. The smallest raptor was staring at her from only a foot away. In his scaly hand he clutched his curved blade.

The girl's huge eyes jerked down to it, mind freezing before she could let herself envision it severing her head from her body. He looked down at it too, then back up at her. Uncountable emotions flickered through her eyes: fear, anger, frustration. Hate. She'd gotten so close to escape, and abruptly, cruelly, fate had thrown closed the door to her survival. It had drifted away like a locket dropped in the water; in suspended animation and yet suddenly ripped out of reach.

"Go."

The word had been so soft below the screeching of alarms and the distant crashes of combat that she'd barely heard it. Her mouth opened and she stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Now!" he spat. "If anybody elth catches you it'th over. _Go!_"

"I-" she stumbled back, face blank and astounded. "Thank you," was all she could choke out. She numbly hit the button, slender fingers shaking, and squeezed herself into the tiny lift. Just before he vanished from sight his expression changed; and his inhuman, yellow eyes looked devastated and profoundly lonely. Her heart gave a little throb of grief at the ally she was abandoning, and the adrenaline pumping through her veins was tempered by a hard lump in her throat.

"Mira!"

The girl looked up. Piper was peering in at her with her luminous, gold stare.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled and scrambled out onto the floor. "Just in shock, I guess." The striking navigator smiled sympathetically.

"The sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be reunited with your pets." She was already climbing up the rope ladder she'd strung down inside, and Mira followed. Her calves and back ached with the effort, but her pace increased as she emerged through the hull and into the wind. Piper rolled the ladder up and stuffed it into the storage compartment at the back of her scooter. The blonde climbed on behind her friend, wrapping her arms around her friend's waist with relief. It had only been several hours before that she'd been on this same vehicle, she mused in amazement, and as it transformed into flight mode and lifted from the ship, she thought it was the best possible place to be. The raptors' vessel was dented and ripped across the front of the hull, and as Piper accelerated and shot upward, the sheet metal they'd just been standing on vanished in a plume of flames. The blonde covered her mouth, horror shining in her enormous eyes. Piper only stared forward, grim recognition on her features.

"This is what they asked for," she said softly, eyes fixed ahead as Mira turned to her. "The war Cyclonia has brought can't be fought without casualties."

The girl swallowed twice before nodding. She didn't watch as the great flagship tore to pieces and fell from the sky.

"Did you see that?"

The two looked in the direction of the voice. Finn was smiling at them, blonde hair flying in every direction as he accelerated to keep up with the heliscooter.

"That was all me. Those new crystals you found sure pack a punch," he added toward Piper.

She shrugged mildly. "Well, what can I say?"

"You could start screaming, 'cuz your hero's coming."

The navigator looked downward and gasped. "Starling!"

"Long time no see," the violet - haired woman called in her soft voice as her skimmer caught up to and flanked the girls. Her bright green gaze flicked to Mira and she blinked. "Is this the new addition Aerrow's been talking about?"

"Her name's Mira," explained Piper. The blonde smiled sheepishly and gave a little wave. "If you wouldn't mind staying with us overnight, we could fill you in!" She sounded nearly ecstatic at the prospect of having her idol as a guest.

"Aerrow already invited me." She shifted her eyes back to Mira. "I bet you have an interesting story."

"So I do," replied the girl with a self - conscious shrug and another smile.

"Don't worry. They'll keep you safe." She looked from Piper to Finn. (Finn had his sapphire stare on Mira at the moment and didn't even notice.)

"They already saved my life once," agreed Mira. Aerrow pulled up a few yards from Starling's side, eyes bright with exhilaration in the pre - dawn darkness. Mira added, "I know they will."

"Good job, Storm Hawks," called the sky knight, a few cuts and bruises dotting his face and neck. Starling shifted her eyes to him, sympathetic but amused.

"Good? We did great!" Finn shot ahead as he yelled it, his face as bright as if he had just awoken from a good night's sleep instead of enduring hours of combat.

As soon as the group got to the Condor, though, things changed. An enormous yawn stretched his lips as Aerrow, Piper, and Mira walked past him and out of the hangar. Starling waited patiently for him to stumble after them and kept walking.

"You can have any of our rooms," said Aerrow from his place at the front of the group.

"That's not necessary," the older knight assured with a slight smile. "I can take the sofa."

"You sure?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Positive."

It was another moment before Mira spoke, as if she was worried that her words wouldn't exit her mouth correctly. "Th-thank you all. You rescued me again. I mean - I know it's for your own good, but I still appreciate it."

"Mira," Aerrow glanced back at her, an incredulous expression on his attractive features. "We didn't save you just because we _had_ to. You're one of us now."

"No I'm not," she shot back in a small, bitter laugh.

The sky knight shrugged. "You'll see."

As the group turned down the hallway to the bedrooms, Starling strode into the bridge. "I can find my way," she promised, before Aerrow could even ask. Small streams of pinkish - yellow light were already filling the huge room as if the sky was lightly scolding them for getting to bed so late.

A small chorus of goodnights sounded as the little blonde stopped at her room. She turned and gave them each a grateful smile before turning to her doorway and stumbling inside. Three pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness before her door closed behind her.

"She's awesome," murmured Finn.

"She's smart, too," added Piper.

"She's a Storm Hawk," announced Aerrow. The sharpshooter glanced at his leader for a second and the navigator smiled.

The three stared at her door for a long minute before scattering to their rooms and crawling into their beds, each drifting in to dark, profound sleep within five minutes.

-xXxXx-

**A** hoarse laugh split the silence, causing startled birds to fly from their nests.

Two figures moved through the pre-dawn shadows, the smaller of the two leaning against the taller, arms looped around one of his. She laughed drunkenly again and the sound echoed through the yard. "Tom's great," she said, staring up at the man beside her with brown eyes.

"Yeah," agreed he, stifling a burp. "He said, 'Henry, if you marry Anne, there's one thing you need to know'." He paused, trudging a few paces toward the house.

"_Well_?" demanded Anne expectantly. "What?"

The man grinned. "I don't remember."

"OH MY GOD," she exclaimed, guffawing as she leaned against his arm. He laughed himself, though much more softly. "Come on," she said, pulling him toward the door. "Let's get in there before we fall asleep on the doorstep."

The pair of silhouettes came to the door. Anne hiccupped.

"Why are we waiting?" she questioned, blinking up at him. His eyes were so wide that the whites of them popped in the darkness. The heavy odor of liquor leaked from his gaping mouth.

Turning to look at the door, Anne gasped.

An enormous crack rippled up the glass door. Inside on the linoleum, a dent the width of a large tree-trunk gaped open, and pieces of the ceiling were scattered over the carpet.

"Oh my God," Henry said.

Anne fell over.


	4. Chapter 4

Here are some fun facts about the last chapter...

Those are my real cats - Oliver is 14, Illie is about 5, and Apollo is also around 5. But since then, at my mom's house we have a new kitten who is now almost a year old. She is appropriately named Piper.

Yes, I had Junko trash my dad and stepmom's house on purpose. I was extremely angry at them back them for the trauma their actions caused me. This story is such an odd combination of very naive and childish Mary Sue-ness and an otherwise pretty believable SH fic...

Ahead of time, I apologize for the silliness of this chapter. It's not poor character-development or melodrama, though - it's a pretty accurate look into my mind at the time.

Anyway, here we go!

* * *

**Chapter Four: Included Outsider**

-xXxXx-

"**I** don't like it."

"Wait 'till it's finished."

"Piper, I don't _like_ it!" She hesitated and I added, "I've never had it cut! Never!"

"Mira, I'm sorry. But think about how quickly you were recognized! It's clear that we need to disguise you properly." She lightened her tone. "Besides, it'll grow back eventually."

"I know." I sniffed and shut my eyes. "But I'll miss it."

"You look fine," she insisted, bending down to my level and smiling in the mirror over my shoulder. It made her look prettier - radiant, really, with her thick black hair sticking up in glistening shocks from her headband and her chocolate skin glowing. And it made me uglier; my skin a waxen complexion and my eyes small and far apart. I frantically tried not to cry.

Picking up on the minute pull on my lower lip, she hugged me tightly. "Mira, you look fine! How about you pick what color you dye it?"

"We're dyeing it?" At this revelation tears streamed down my face.

"Okay, okay." She backpedaled, her arms warm and her breath sweet as she turned to face me. "We'll only streak it, then."

"It…" (sniff) "It isn't gonna be brown, is it?"

"Well, that'd be the most inconspicuous-" I was on the edge of hysterics. She quickly changed her position. "-but we can just streak it if you want to," she finished.

"Can it be…" (sniff) "…red?"

"Sure! We can put red in it." I swallowed and she gave a warm, reassuring smile. "You have such a nice face, though, it hardly matters!" I gave her a miserable, incredulous stare, wondering if she was kidding or really being that dense.

"_Me_?"

"Mira, look at yourself! You have big eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips! Plus you're as skinny as a pixie! I think you look beautiful the way you are; you'll get used to it."

"It'll be more functional for my next kidnapping, I guess," I muttered dryly. Seeing that I had re-stabilized to a degree, she released my shoulders and continued lightly snipping at my hair.

For an amateur, she had done well. Honestly, I doubted I could've done better myself. It was, for the moment, pale, cool blonde as it always had been. It was bobbed in the back, and my neck felt utterly bare. It came down longer in the front, a few inches below my chin. I was surprised at how light-headed I felt - even as thin as it was, it must've weighed a pound or two. It wasn't horrifically flat on top anymore, and had more or less fluffed out. My waist - length hair had been my pride and joy my whole life, and now it lay in a fluffy pile on the floor. Oh well.

Suddenly a thought struck me.

"Piper?"

"Hmm?" She kept up her quick, precise snips.

"What will everyone think?"

"I don't know." She gave a cheery little smile. "But we'll see in a minute!"

-xXxXx-

"**M**IRA!" I'd gotten halfway out the door when Junko intercepted, yanking me off the ground and suffocating me with another hug - attack. "Are you okay? I was so worried about you!"

"Junko," chided Piper, "you've done this nine times this morning. She's fine!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I wheezed, agreeing with the dark - skinned tactician for once. He released me, although seeming unconvinced.

"Mira," he breathed, finally calming down enough to see me, "You look different! You look … even _more_ pretty than before!"

"Really?" Shocked and elated, I smiled.

"Yeah! Heh! Those Cyclonians'll never recognize you now!"

"_Whoa_." I looked to the other side of the room to see Aerrow, frozen mid - stride and staring fixedly at me. "You look _different_!"

Piper's smile was burning into the back of my head as I gazed back, trying to look like I was patiently awaiting his opinion as opposed to rabid with curiosity.

"I-I mean, I liked your long hair too, but… you look nice!" His expression was a happily astounded one. My cheeks threatened to heat up with the copious praise and I nodded gratefully.

"What? Is she out yet?" called Finn from some other room. He darted onto the bridge as well, and his vivid blue eyes widened. "Wow. Dude: you look awesome."

"Thanks," I muttered in embarrassment, before a better reply popped audibly into my head. "Thank Piper. She's the one who did it."

"You're pretty good," Junko agreed, putting his large hand under his elbow and putting his chin in the other hand to look thoughtful.

"Thanks," she replied flippantly from my right. "I try."

At this moment, Radarr skittered in with a little raccoon - like squeak. Aerrow tilted his head downward, his ginger hair fluffing into his face, and squatted down for his friend to hop up. Straightening, he strode quickly over and stopped before me. My lips pulled up as Radarr elongated his pale, furry neck and gave me a sniff.

"Whattaya think, buddy?"

The creature's eyes narrowed skeptically for a long moment. His disapproval deposited an egg of horror in my stomach. Before it could hatch, however, he gave a decisive chirp and stuck his miniature thumb in the air. I laughed with relief, and Aerrow's mouth pulled up on one side as his leafy eyes flicked back and forth between both of my own.

"Hey, Mira." The blonde sharpshooter waved enthusiastically from the edge of the room, then aimed his thumbs in the direction of the hallway. "Can we go see your cats?"

Shrugging, I mumbled, "They're awfully scared still. Mind giving them until tomorrow?"

"Oh." Crestfallen, he shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "That's cool." My relief about my cats being safe was lessened by my guilt at disappointing him. I don't like making people sad.

"Wow, you look nice," came Starling's British-like accent from the doorway as the room's current occupants turned their attention to her. She inspected me with her striking green eyes and a small, prim smile. "That for disguise?"

"Yeah. Piper did a nice job."

"See?" Commented the navigator and tactician in question, "I knew you'd like it."

"I'm sure you'll all want a little time to relax after last night," said the violet-haired sky knight with a meaningful glance at each of us. "I've got to go anyway. Places to go, people to see."

"I'll see you off," offered Aerrow, his tone edged with something I couldn't identify. "I need a ride anyway."

"Bye, Starling," called Junko, and Finn and Piper added to the chorus of sendoffs as I smiled at her silently. She nodded, dignified in every way, before turning and leaving with Aerrow behind her.

"Isn't she cool?" exclaimed Piper softly as soon as the sky knights were out of the room.

"She's awesome," I agreed. "And she's a great fighter."

"I want to be just like her someday." Her amber eyes sparkled with admiration.

"No you don't." She gave me a questioning look. "You'll be as great as her someday, but not _just like _her. You'll be you."

She stared at me for a long time. I was beginning to wonder if I'd offended her somehow when her face lit up with her radiant smile.

"Hey, Mira." I looked over to find Junko staring at me, his gray eyes wide with their usual energy. "Need any help unpacking your stuff? I mean, it's been four days and you've still got boxes of stuff all over. I can fold pretty well."

"Nah. I won't make you do anything. That's a good idea, though. I'll put all my clothes away. Then you can have the boxes."

"Great! They'll be good storage. Just come find me when you're done with 'em."

"Okay." _Like I'll ever find him in this giant metal death trap,_ I thought dryly. I immediately felt guilty for thinking badly of the Condor and put extra effort into the smile I gave Junko to make up for it. "I will."

Although I doubted I'd be able to find him when the time came, I was pretty sure that I could find my room. I started off toward the bridge, clasping my hands behind my back as I walked and listened to my boots clinking against the metal on the floor. Stork gave me a nasty look when I walked through, but I gazed at him anyway. He turned back to look at some device on the controls only after I'd turned toward the door on the other side to leave. I was passing the hangar when I head what sounded like soft humming. I realized that it was Starling's soft little voice and hesitated to listen. Aerrow's reply was much more audible.

"I know. But we're grateful anyway." I was about to keep going when he continued. "Starling?"

"Yes?"

"You know you're welcome to stay."

"Aerrow-" she stopped to form her response and I crept up beside the door to hear. "-I can't."

"Why not?" he protested childishly.

"Not this time. I'm sorry." There was an edge of intense longing in her voice, but she forced it out. "Besides, there aren't any empty rooms here anymore."

Suddenly my stomach began to hurt. The wave of realization hit me as I thought, _If I weren't here, there would be room for Starling._ Did it offend her that I'd taken her bedroom? I was always in somebody's way back on Earth - on Reveria. Surprisingly sharp disappointment filled me as I realized that this place was no different. At least not in that aspect.

"We can always make room for you," he pleaded.

"Aerrow, I can't. You don't need my leadership as much as you think you do. You're a better knight than _I_ was at your age." The roar of her bike starting up gave me the cover I needed to hurry past the door and down the hall to my own room. The disgust for myself I'd been able to bottle up for the past few years began to leak out as I began folding shirts and sorting socks. I refused to acknowledge the tears threatening my vision until they finally spilled over, burning my cheeks and darkening little spots on the expensive clothing I was smoothing and stacking in a drawer. The crying yesterday seemed like a vague, abstract memory, but every tear I'd shed in the memories beforehand felt recent and familiar. I'd promised myself not to; no more sobbing for hours on end after Mom. Yet as the cases began to empty and the closet and drawers began to fill - as Starling's room cluttered with my belongings - the thickness in my throat and stomach only got thicker, and eventually I gave up trying to choke down the gasps. My sleeves were soaked through from wiping my face and nose, and my mouth was full of salt. Everything was neat and tidy with hours of effort and I still didn't feel any better. This had been my chance to fit in, to be helpful and valued and of use. Or so I thought. Realizing that I was just as much of a burden here as I had been on Reveria left me with nothing but despair. This world was supposed to be glorious and surreal and a chance to be better.

But it wasn't.

A knock on my door awoke me. I was dozing, as close to sleep as I could get while sobbing. "Mira? Supper's ready. You hungry?"

It took a minute to steady my voice. I swallowed hard a few times and sat up. "No. Thanks, though."

Even to me it sounded flat. I just hoped he hadn't heard my stomach growl at the suggestion of food. Aerrow persisted.

"You sure you aren't?"

"I'm not; not that much."

"'Not that much' still means a little."

"I'm fine. Go ahead. I've still got a lot of work to do." _Please, God, don't let him come in._

"You sure?" he persisted, his voice sweet any playful. It was even more awful that I was going to disappoint it.

"Positive. You have my permission to eat my plate."

"Thanks! I-if you change your mind later, I'll make you something myself."

My heart fluttered a bit as I imagined the crestfallen yet hopeful look that was surely on his face. The dry lines on my face got wet again and I forced down another sob. "Okay."

I strained my ears, listening until his footsteps disappeared and it was safe.

I then curled back into a ball on Starling's bed, and cried guiltily for what could have been either hours or years.

-xXxXx-

**I** rubbed lightly at my eyelids with the joints of both my index fingers. I then stuck my tongue out in disgust at the crust that came off. What time was it? Midnight? Two? I hadn't the slightest idea. My light was still on. The tapping on the door became more persistent and I cleared my throat. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

I was dizzy when I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I could just picture the horrific red marks all over my sore legs from sleeping with stiff, scratchy jeans on. After a minute the impatient tapping resumed. I sighed, flustered, and hopped up, despite the blood that rushed to my head, and walked to the door. Illie, who was in the closet, stretched when the noise woke her up.

As if on cue, it whooshed open from the outside. Finn's blonde hair glistened in the moonlight and his eyes were wide like miniature moons. "Hey," he greeted nonchalantly. His gaze flicked over my face and body and he suddenly seemed worried. "You look awful!"

"Thanks." I wiped my clogged nose.

"Why'd you sleep in your clothes? Why didn't you come to dinner? Why were you crying?" with each question, the indignance in his voice intensified. "Mira, are you okay?"

My inclination was to be irritated, but the pure, innocent concern in his blue eyes made a difference. I sighed. "I'm fine."

"Hey, the Raptors aren't going to hurt you, Mira, and neither are the Cyclonians. I swear, you'll never get touched by one of them again." I turned around and trudged back a few steps.

"That's not it," I murmured, and suddenly I noticed the sharp pain in my head.

"What? Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You mean nothing you wanna talk about. _Whatever_,_ fine_, just leave Finn in the dark. Whatever makes you feel better." I had my head back and was squinting groggily at the ceiling when my mood brightened about half a percentage. Having somebody there who'd just as soon let you sulk as try to be your therapist was a welcome change.

"Okay."

"I won't bug you about it, but- what ever it is -would you feel better if you walked around a little? Or something?"

"Actually, yes." I shook my head to clear it, my short hair brushing loudly against my ears. "Don't look."

"What?" I heard him run in, shut the door and turn away in a flurry. "Geez! Warn me next time!" I'd begun to wrestle my wrinkled shirt off and next was pulling a comfier sweater out of the closet.

"I did," I retorted, and then traded my stiff, uncomfortable jeans for some baggy, stringy shorts. "But I needed to change into something more comfortable." I dropped my old clothes in a pile and turned around. It was shocking to find him staring loyally at the wall, showing not a hint of wanting to peek. (Well, excusing the fact that there was nothing attractive behind him to peek at.) At least people out here were chaste. Now I could observe him: wearing a patchy t-shirt and similar pajama pants to the ones from the other night. With his spiky, blonde hair, his lanky yet muscular body, and the outfit, I could safely say that he was one of the most unique people I'd ever met. "Done," I announced, and he turned back around with his peculiar grace and precision.

"You look a little better," he offered cheerily, a smile tugging gently at his mouth. "But why do you always wear black?"

"It satisfies my need to blend in. To be as non-existent as somebody in existence can be."

"What? You don't blend in!"

"I know," I agreed evenly. "I'm too ugly."

"Ugly? Are you _blind?_"

"Am I?" He opened his mouth to argue, realized his response would only cause the awkwardness to rise even more, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Whatever. Let's just go already." I followed him out the door and it shut behind me, shaking my head when a scene from Star Trek popped into my thoughts. I turned to him-

-to find that he wasn't there anymore.

Frowning like a five - year - old, I put my hands on my hips. "Finn!"

There was no answer, but the seal on the refrigerator door popped as it opened. I trudged to the kitchen and peered in. The sniper had his head stuffed inside, and he emerged holding two cans of pop and a store-bought bag of lettuce (and other vegetables of the Atmos.) He held the bag at arm's length and I hurried over to get it. He stuck his tongue out as I grabbed the bag.

"Why do you like _salad_ so much?"

"Why don't you?" I retorted, and poked a hole in the bag with my thumbnail. I was grabbing the handle on one of the cupboards when a bowl poked at my shoulder. I looked over to find the sharpshooter grinning at me, and lost the fight not to grin back as I took it and sat it on the counter in the middle of the room. I dumped salad in until it overflowed, then rolled the bag up and held my hand out. As I'd expected, a fork landed in it and I immediately began eating. Before long, food was sticking out of my mouth and my cheeks were packed full. I blinked, surprised, and wondering how to go about fitting it all in AND having room to chew when I realized that Finn was staring at me from across the island. His elbow was on the counter and his chin was cupped in his hand. He was smiling and shaking his head.

"Shuh-ubh," I said, irritated, and he began laughing with such force that he had to lay his head down on the table.

Let me tell you: laughing is hard when you have lettuce in your mouth.

A moment later, after some awkward hacking and some vegetable - projectiles shooting across the room, I was swallowing my enormous mouthful and able to start yelling at him. He just kept laughing, though, and I wasn't faring any better myself. I eventually gave up the scolding, but forced my mouth to stay shut against giggling as hard as he was. It was about thirty seconds later when my own amusement was interrupted by a loud rumble of my stomach, pleased with the overdue nourishment and demanding more. I poured more into the bowl and rolled the bag up as the sharpshooter's snorts and giggles began to subside. I stabbed a few crisp, white leaves and relished the watery, thirst - quenching crunches between my molars.

Let me tell you, there's nothing like a good, refreshing bowl of salad to lighten your mood after bawling your eyes out.

Eventually Finn quieted down, his thoughtful sapphire stare present on my face as I blissfully munched away.

I was about to refill my bowl when the sharpshooter spoke up again.

"So what was it like on Reveria?"

I shrugged. "Nothing special. People weren't very nice there. I didn't like it."

"Well, how so?"

Staring at a strip of carrot in the bottom of my bowl, I shrugged. "First off, terrorists."

"Terrorists?" He ran all the r's together lazily.

Nodding, I elaborated. "They hate our country, America. They fear our power and our freedom."

"Well what do they do?"

"Sneak into our subways with bombs in their luggage and blow us up." His mouth was hanging open. "They teach whole nations that _we're_ evil and their bibles even claim that you'll get seventy - two virgins in heaven if you die killing us."

"You're serious?"

I nodded.

"And worst of all, they supply our oil - our fuel for almost all machinery and transportation. And we can't drill in our _own_ country because environmentalists say it'll hurt the wildlife."

The blonde hopped and reached across the table, fingers closing on my fork. He slid back off the counter top and began spinning it on the greenish surface. "So how did you not run out of power?"

"We were. Scientists tried coming up with stuff like corn - fuel, but it turned out worse for the environment than oil. We actually figured out how to use hydrogen, but until it caught on, the technology was astronomically expensive."

"What else?"

The next answer came without hesitation. "Politics."

"Politics? Like freedom and right - and - wrong stuff?"

"You got it. You're either in the informed minority or the lazy, naïve majority."

"Huh?"

"You either know what's going on or you don't care. Most people don't care." He sniffed, amused. "Or they don't care enough to do their research. In my country we were divided into states, and in most states it was legal to carry out an abortion for a minor without the parents' consent."

"What?"

"A doctor could do an abortion on a girl without asking her parents first."

He attempted to stick the fork to his nose and succeeded. "So an abortion is bad?"

I waited until the fork fell off to answer. "An abortion is having your baby killed before it's born if you don't want it."

Although it was dark, his face seemed to go two shades paler. "It - even - why?"

Shrugging, I replied, "Sometimes girls get pregnant and want to finish school instead of facing up to their responsibilities. Instead of dealing with consequences."

Finn's eyes widened in shock. "People get pregnant when they're not married?"

"Yeah. Most girls my age are very promiscuous."

"You mean having-" he trailed off awkwardly, looking at the fork in front of him.

"Yep. That." My bothersome fair skin heated up as I freed my hand from underneath me to pick at the carrot piece in my bowl. Worried that things could only get more awkward if somebody didn't speak up, I added, "It's everywhere. On TV, in movies, magazines and music. It's disgusting."

"Were-" he cleared his throat and began poking at the tines of the fork. "Were you, uh, promiscuous?"

"Oh. No. No! Are you kidding? I haven't even had my first kiss yet!"

Now my face was on fire.

"You haven't? That's surprising. Uh-" he backpedaled, and I began dicing the piece of carrot with my fingernail, hoping the heat of embarrassment radiating off my face wasn't bad enough for him to feel. "-seeing as you're so nice - and all."

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Wait," he called as I slid off the stool and headed for the door.

"I have to blow my nose," I explained, and by some miracle I was able to navigate my way to the bathroom. Opting to leave the light off, I stumbled in in my congested blur, feeling my way across the aluminum countertop and over to the toilet. When my fingers skirted across something fluffy, I pulled on it. It unraveled somewhat and I held the roll still as I yanked a few sheets off.

I didn't know that much snot could fit in one nose.

A few gruesome tissue - wads later, I felt a little bit better. The grogginess had pretty much dissipated with the graceless conversation, so other than the slight throb behind my eyes, everything was decent. My eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness, and when I turned to leave, I'd expected them to just make out the marksman's silhouette in the doorway. When I only saw a few quiet strands of moonlight, I walked back out and looked around. The beauty of the ship hit me full on as I watched the pale light sparkle and reflect off of the walls and floor like a million ancient mirrors, not new and shiny, but timeless, dignified, and worn. There were a few pictures hung on the walls, one of Junko and Finn covered in something fluffy, (and I somehow knew that it was cotton candy,) and one in which Piper was smiling as she held up a handful of gems shining so brightly that they distorted the photo. As I walked over to the second one and fingered the tape holding it up, it was as if I'd known them my whole life- my beloved friends.

This was _way_ better than Star Trek.

Finn was still at the table, my bowl and the salad were not. For once, he seemed to be completely lost in thought. His profile was lightly painted with azure starlight: shocks of blonde hair, long pointed nose, and his narrow shoulders. Although Aerrow is tall, green-eyed, and striking, the sharpshooter looks much older. I wondered in that moment if he was.

"Do you still wanna go on that walk?"

Once again, I'd forgotten how sharp his senses were. "It'd make me feel better. I-is that okay?"

"Sure." He hopped nimbly up, eyes going from worried to nonchalant. I hoped he was as transparent as he seemed, not wanting it to be an act.

"Then follow me." He trotted off and to the left, and I followed, silently admiring the surreal wonderland a big metal ship could become with just a little starlight. We were headed toward the front of the Condor, and I assumed that he wanted to look out the bridge window like last time.

It came as a surprise when he veered off toward the hangar bay door. My stomach tightened with apprehension as I picked up on his idea. His glowing silhouette turned to shadow as he entered, his footsteps going from little clanks to louder ones with the different acoustics.

"That's not a walk," I protested as he swerved around Aerrow's skimmer and Piper's heliscooter, glancing back at me as he stopped at his bike.

"It's more fun," he said with a shrug. "Besides, you need to get used to flying if you wanna stay here for a while."

Suddenly a question popped out of my mouth. "Do you mind me being here?"

The sniper gawked at me like I had a third eyeball and an extra nose on my forehead. "Are you kidding? Once we get you handy with a weapon and your own sky ride you'll be a Storm Hawk like the rest of us."

"Wh-what?" My mind screeched to a halt. "But- but I-" I took a deep breath. "But I'm only here temporarily. And all I'm doing is eating all your food-"

"Salad," he interrupted.

"-but I'm a danger to you all! You risked your lives to save me from the raptors, even Starling did, which is pretty generous since I'm staying in her room and in your way all the time."

"Mira! Starling doesn't _want_ to stay with us. That has nothing to do with you. She's just a loner. And you're not in the way. A big ship like this could hold a whole city! Dude … you really need a reality check."

When I didn't answer, he assumed he'd offended me.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, no problem at all. You didn't make me mad."

He was still babbling apologetically when I said that. "and only because- what? You aren't mad?" I shook my head. "Dude. Piper would be screaming at me by now."

"I'm used to getting picked on," I said with a passive shrug. "And being insulted. It doesn't bother me anymore."

"Mira, I'm _sorry_. I just can't believe you think you're in the way." He blinked. "Hey - is that what you're all worried about?"

Struggling not to burst into tears of frustration and humiliation again, I swallowed and pursed my lips. He looked even more astounded at my wordless confirmation.

"Here. Get on." He swung his leg over and plopped down. I sighed shakily and took a step forward, lowering myself onto the seat and draping my arms half-heartedly around his middle. "You're gonna need to hold on tighter than that," he murmured, and I scooted up against him, interlacing my fingers and letting my chin sit on his shoulder. His scent was familiar, like that of his pillow he'd assaulted me with two nights before.

In that moment I appreciated his friendship more than I thought possible.

He must've hit a button that opened the hatch, for the huge door creaked open, letting the pale light flood in with the cold night air. With the wind, his engine starting up didn't seem nearly as loud. It rumbled to life smoothly and he accelerated onto the long landing strip in between the Condor's two engines. The size of the ship amazed me, even though I'd seen it from the outside several times before. The cold air blasted my face. It blew my short hair back and made my breath catch in my throat.

"Hold on," he instructed cheerfully, and I squeezed even tighter as he yanked a lever on the skimmer. Wings shot out before him, unfolding in a series of tight clicks and spanning a good five feet on either side. Two on top, two on the bottom. He revved the engine and the rockets blasted from behind, propelling us into the clouds. The wheels folded neatly under and armor shot out over them. The sheer height amazed me as I looked down at the Condor far below us. How fast were we going? Sixty? Eighty? Hard to judge when only wispy clouds were whipping past instead of trees and signs.

"I'm freezing," I gasped, my stomach still clenched in shock.

"You'll get used to it," he responded passively. "Wanna go above the clouds?"

"Uh-"

"Great! Keep holdin' on!" The skimmer had been at a pleasant slope before, but now was more vertical than horizontal.

"We're gonna die," I said, my voice high and faint.

"Naw, not with the great Finn as your pilot." I could feel the smile in his words, and it only made me more worried. Maybe I shouldn't have entrusted my life to him after all…

The clouds whacked us with a spray of cold mist. For a minute I couldn't see a thing, and then we were through, the stars glowing brilliantly and the downy white blanket below us. He leveled out and I gazed in awe at the little tendrils of moisture shooting by just below us.

"Wow," I murmured over the engine's low roar and the air buffeting my face.

"Pretty cool, huh? Ever seen the tops of clouds before?"

"On airplanes," I choked out, a particularly high rise of cloud hitting my face with its mist. "They go up, they go down. We didn't have the technology to stay in the air for days within our atmosphere." I then vaguely wondered what the astronauts had seen if none of it had been real … never mind. Finn would have no idea either.

"It's awesome! If ya open your mouth too wide it can freeze," he shouted excitedly.

"Then I bet that happens to you a lot," I muttered softly, but those sharpshooter senses picked up on it.

"Hey!"

I laughed.

The sight was mesmerizing. Thick, cumulous clouds stretched far into the distance, where the magical early - night glow was darkening into late - night shadow. The shockingly cold puffs of white occasionally hit me in the face, making the goosebumps on my legs grow even bigger as I gasped for breath and hid my face behind his back. Once, I had my nose buried in his patchy blue shirt when I got the sensation of being looked at. I glared up at the sharpshooter. "What?"

He only chuckled and turned back around.

"You had better pay attention," I scolded, squirming around to peer over his shoulder again. "Or we're gonna-"

"Gonna what?" he interrupted. "Run into a cloud?"

"Shut up," I muttered. He chuckled.

After what seemed like hours, (but was probably only thirty or forty minutes,) he slowed and turned around. Crestfallen, I mumbled, "So we're going back now?"

"Aren't you tired?"

"No," I said through a yawn. "Not a bit." He rolled his eyes and accelerated.

"So how far did we go?"

"Couplea miles."

"Like, how many?"

"Like seventy, maybe."

"Seventy?"

"Well, duh! I was doing ninety."

"Ninety?"

"Y'know, you really need to stop shouting numbers."

"How much fuel did you use?"

"A lot."

"Finn! Isn't that stuff expensive?"

"Nope. Not when you have Piper to find more crystals." I sighed and poked him hard with one finger. He squeaked. "Okay, okay! _I'll_ go out and help next time."

"Good. I feel better."

"See? It was my good looks and talented flying, wasn't it?"

"Uh … sure." He glowered back at me and I responded with a prim smile. I poked him in the ribs and he squeaked again. I laughed as he scowled and dipped down through the clouds.

The Condor was right where we'd left it, not surprisingly. What floored me was his ability to locate it through the thick blanket dividing the upper and lower skies. I cringed and squeezed my eyes shut as we swooped downward. That only made it scarier, so I opened my eyes again and gripped him more tightly. In a single, smooth movement, he pulled the skimmer level with the landing strip and hit the breaks. It halted almost immediately in the dark hangar.

"You can get off now," he commented, as I was still glued to the curve of his back.

"I know." My innards were still coiled tightly, and unless I wanted my spring-loaded salad coming back up, it wasn't quite time to get up yet. "Just hold on a minute."

"Is it that bad?"

"I'm just not used to it yet," came my defensive reply.

"Fine. Don't bite my head off," he said airily. I poked him again, with all ten fingers, and he yelped like a little girl. "Don't DO that!" I giggled and let go.

"I'm feeling fine now," I announced innocently. He grumbled something unintelligible as I put my hands on his shoulders and stood up. I was a bit wobbly, but no worse. He hopped off like it was easier than riding a tricycle. As I was getting my balance, he skipped over to the hatch and hit a button to close it. He beat me to the door, too.

"Are you _coming_?"

"Yes!" _Why are you so hyper?_ I wanted to demand. But I didn't. He scuttled off as gleefully as a kid after half a gallon of energy drinks and I plodded after him. It wasn't too hard to navigate back to my room; so easy, in fact, that I was surprised at how quickly my feet took me there. It had to be around midnight, for the mystical glow had been traded for near - blackness. He was leaning against the wall beside it, smiling.

"You good now?"

"I feel worlds better. Storm Hawks do that to me, it seems." He chuckled softly.

"See you in the morning."

"Yep."

"Aerrow's training you."

"_What_? Isn't it enough that I got my hair whacked off?" I moaned and walked in my room.

"See ya then," he called cheerily.

"Go away." He snickered and the door _whooshed_ shut.

-xXxXx-

**W**hen I woke up, there was a cat on my head.

"Illie, what are you doing?" She squeaked as I sat up and she hopped off. It was nice of Junko to think of bringing cat food along, I mused, as I stumbled out of bed and scooped some into their bowls. There aren't a lot of loose things sitting around the Condor, mostly because of turbulence and the occasional Cyclonian attacks. Dishes go in cupboards, crystals go in crates, cat-food goes in cats. My cats eat a lot.

"Hey, Mira. You awake?" Aerrow's unmistakable voice came through the metal.

"Yep! Are we gonna train?"

"Not until after breakfast," he replied indignantly. "I hope you like bacon!"

"Goody! I'll be out in a minute!" He laughed.

Today my outfit of choice was a red t-shirt and dark blue jeans that I managed to stuff into my boots. Now I really looked like a citizen of Terra Rex.

Aerrow was waiting patiently at my door, leaned against the wall on the opposite side Finn used. He was wearing one of his usual shirts, navy, pale blue, and a few red, leathery patches. He smiled, emerald eyes glimmering. My knees felt weak. "Hey. Sleep well?"

"Well enough. Now where's that bacon?"

The sky knight laughed again in his rich voice. "You sound like Finn. Come on, Piper's cooking."

Piper was an excellent bacon - cook. She made enough for a small army, (most of which Junko devoured,) and something like French toast but much sweeter and richer. Among that were some sort of eggs, all of which tasted ten times better than Reverian food. Everybody talked to me except for Radarr and Stork. Stork kept giving me nasty glances from under his black hair as he chewed, and although Radarr couldn't talk, he hopped onto my lap to help me finish my breakfast. Unlike the food I was used to, it was filling yet energizing. And with Aerrow's maiming of me imminent, a food coma was out of the question anyway.

"Are you ready to practice?" the redhead asked softly as Junko and Finn cackled about something that wasn't that funny. I bit my lip and nodded apprehensively. "Don't worry, it'll be fun. Come on." He grabbed my plate and his and set them on the counter while I stood up and Radarr dismounted from my lap. Finn and Junko flew to their feet and I stepped back.

"No," said Piper sternly, stretching her hand out. "Mira doesn't need an audience."

"Awww," whined the two, plopping back down in their seats. There was a creak and Junko's chair fell apart, taking him to the floor with it. Finn stared for a second before laughing hysterically as Piper took a deep breath and tried not to scream at them. Aerrow gave an embarrassed laugh and ushered me out of the room.

Although I was no expert in my short five days with the squadron, I'd no memory of a training room. Apparently, I hadn't missed anything. He led me with his swooping gait out to the hangar and opened the hatch. "It's a little dreary today. Do you mind if we go outside?"

"No. I don't mind at all." The cool breeze pushed my short, pale hair in my face. I sniffed a strand out of my nose and was relieved he didn't notice. "But how are we-"

"Like this." He drew his blades and spun them nimbly around his hands before catching them again. He offered one to me, and I wrapped my fingers around its worn handle. "_This_ is an energy blade." I nodded, staring at it. It wasn't straight like a sword. It was curved and winglike in shape and as long as my forearm. I couldn't tell what material it was. It glistened like liquid mercury but was surprisingly lightweight. "This is how you activate an energy blade."

With a practiced flick of his wrist and the squeezing of a trigger, he made his screech to life. I winced, watching in amazement as it zapped pale blue. The electricity came off in tiny bursts; longer toward the end. He released the trigger and it stopped. I blinked the spots off my eyes.

"And you do it-" he jumped back and thrust his arm out as it screeched to life again. "while getting into your fighting stance."

Gazing at him blankly, tensely, I uttered, "And you want _me_ to do that?"

"First step," he answered simply.

_Here goes nothing_, I thought in my Reverian mom's words, and in a second I'd stepped back, angled the blade across my chest to protect it, and pulled the trigger. It zapped on, making my hair fluff up and my nose tingle with its staticky smell.

"Not bad," he commented, raising a red eyebrow. "Not bad at all."

"Yeah right," I responded incredulously, embarrassed beyond silence.

"No, that's … pretty good."

"Really?"

The sky knight nodded.

"Now we'll work on battle tactics."

"Aren't we going to do that again?"

"No, you did fine."

"But - AAH!" He lunged at me and whacked at my face. I opened my eyes and was astonished to see my blade up defensively between me and his. "What was that for?"

"For working on battle tactics!" He pulled back and slashed forward at my waist. I scooted back and pointed the edge of mine at his, blocking as they zapped together. I grunted at his strength.

"Good. First rule: keep your weapon perpendicular to your opponent's. But angled just enough to hold it in place."

"O…kay…" He stepped back and I took the opportunity to jump forward and swing. He blocked with ease, but his expression hardened. It took all of my strength to bear down on him for a good two seconds before he pushed me off and jumped back.

"Make sure you're in a good position at all times. Know where their eyes and feet are going." He took a step to the left and I took one to the right. He took one forward and I took one back then one to the right. He took one to the left in response. "Imagine that I'm on one side of the circle and you're on the other. It can change in size, but you have to stay opposite each other. If you keep changing it, then they'll have to divide their attention between moving and combat."

"Is this how normal sword fighting works?"

"…I don't know. It's the way I do it, and it's worked so-"

I jumped forward and brought my blade up toward his neck. He blocked and the metal screeched together as sparks flew. My eyes widened as he began to push my blade down with ease, a small smirk appearing on his face. It had been a mistake and he'd gained the upper hand. Turning my weapon made his slide off it and I jumped back.

"Pretty good," he said, both approvingly and disdainfully.

"Aren't there any special moves you have to teach me?"

His smile faded into a thoughtful look. "Not really. Just don't lose a limb, that's my goal." I blinked. He was leaning back and about to lunge at me again when a high - pitched cry split the soft whispering of the wind. He deactivated his blade and sheathed it, and I let go of the trigger on mine to hand it back. His gloved palm was warm when it brushed over mine as he gripped the handle and took it from me. I swallowed and withdrew quickly to find him staring at me, eyes unreadable. The shrill cry sounded again and we looked up to see a small, russet - colored object fluttering down from the sky.

"What kind of bird is that?" I asked, observing the plumes coming off of its head and the long, waxy-looking feathers on its wings. It dove toward the landing strip and pulled up just as it reached us, perching on Aerrow's broad shoulder in a single fluid movement. It appraised me with dark, intelligent eyes.

"The message - carrying kind," he answered, pulling a small strip of paper off its leg. He blinked and his glowing green eyes began to flick across it. His curious gaze widened slightly, seeming proud and impressed.

"What?" Finn hopped up from where, apparently, he'd been hiding behind his skimmer. Junko had sought refuge behind the strip of wall on one side of the hanger door, and crashed out to meet us as well. I sighed.

"It says we're invited to the opening of a haunted house on Terra Vora," he explained, gaze going back over the scratch marks on the paper. "It's a reward for defeating more Cyclonians in the past month than all of the other squadrons combined."

"_Oh yeah_! It was all Finn." The three of us sent a collective glare at him.

"That sounds about right," reasoned Junko, "I mean, we have been doing pretty well lately."

"But why doesn't it say who it's from?" The strongman and the sharpshooter glanced at me and Aerrow nodded once.

"Mira has a point. Let's see what Piper and Stork think."

"We're goin' to a haunted house!" exclaimed Finn as Junko gave a giggle and an earth-shaking hop. To me he added: "You can stick with me if it's too scary for ya."

"I'll keep that in mind," I answered flatly. Aerrow gave me a smile that was both appreciative and apologetic as we headed inside after the two cheering Hawks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Collaboration**

-xXxXx-

**G**uys, don't you think that's a little weird? It's simple good etiquette to sign an invitation."

"Aww, come on. Who cares?" retorted Finn flippantly. "We're gonna be the very first people to go inside! Even Terra Neon doesn't have a haunted house yet!"

"Maybe they just forgot," Junko suggested. "I forget things sometimes."

"It's a sure path to doom," uttered Stork darkly over his shoulder as he stood at the helm. "It's probably an experimental new death - penalty device."

The navigator and tactician didn't seem convinced. "Mira? What do you think?"

The little blonde shrugged and crossed her arms. "I don't really like stuff like that."

"Mira!" whined the sharpshooter. "Please?"

"I don't know," said Aerrow. Piper and Mira turned to look at him. "What if it's a lot of fun? After all, Mira hasn't gotten the chance to see the fun side of being a Storm Hawk yet."

"Well…" Piper looked at Mira, who didn't seem too enthusiastic either way. She then looked at Junko and Finn, who were grinning and nodding vigorously. The girl trained her gaze once again on the Sky Knight and Radarr, perched on his shoulder and listening intently. "Okay."

A chorus of ecstatic shouts followed, while Stork's ears laid back and he grudgingly steered the Condor off its initial course.

-xXxXx-

"**W**ow." Aerrow put his hands on his hips, the cold wind blowing through his rust - colored hair. "It's … different. Different than I expected." Piper crossed her arms and shuddered as Junko attempted to hide his immense frame behind her.

"Oh … it's not that bad." Stork's eye twitched and Finn gave him a concerned look.

"Well, this must be it," commented the sky knight, nodding toward a glob of light flashing on and off through the mist roughly the consistency of pea soup. His mouth stretched into a smile and his eyes narrowed minutely. "This should be fun." He started walking as Radarr weaved around his shoulders, and the remainder of the group reluctantly followed. A melancholy howl wafted through the dank, black air, and Piper jumped as Finn grabbed her shoulder. She glared back at him, his eyes the size of two blue Frisbees. With a roll of her eyes she hurried after Aerrow.

"Terra Vora's House of Horror," read Piper as the seven reached the walkway and the sign beside it. The grass was pleasantly green and a plain white fence made its way around the building. There was a mailbox with some sort of sky ivy climbing up the side, and two bushes were pleasantly situated on either side of the gate.

"Huh. This isn't so bad," observed the sharpshooter, sauntering forward and popping the mailbox open. Two yellow eyes opened up, narrowing as a hiss emanated from it. Finn screeched and bashed the mailbox back shut. "Uh … heh heh … don't want it gettin' out and hurting you guys." Piper shot him an incredulous look as Junko gazed at him admiringly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" He started off through the gates and the Storm Hawks kept moving.

The yard was a wispy prairie grass, made even feebler by the immense house standing before it. Large, grayish brick made the outside, and the two porch lights were flashing. Not flashing, Aerrow realized as he squinted at them. Flickering. Insects fluttered around them too - the only sign of life so far.

"I like these bushes," said Junko cheerily, peering at a topiary trimmed in the shape of a woman. Radarr growled at a smaller one from where he was perched on Aerrow's shoulder as Stork glared at it suspiciously. Mira walked over, blinking up at one in the shape of a swan. As she gazed at it the ground rustled below her. A curved green finger snaked its way out of the dirt, winding its way up her boot. Her eyes widened as she looked down at it and scrambled back with a gasp.

"Something wrong, Mira?" asked Aerrow as the blonde walked briskly back onto the gravel.

"No. I tripped on a vine and it spooked me. Gettin' paranoid," she added in embarrassment.

"You coming, Junko?" The sharpshooter was already at the door and the rest of the group was reaching it.

"Yeah, I'm coming." The wallop finished admiring the art and followed his friends. Halfway there he gulped and stopped short.

"Junko, hurry up!" shouted Finn.

"C-coming!" He hurried after the group, making sure not to look behind him. Had he, he would've noticed that the woman had seemingly turned her head to watch him go.

The door opened with a creak. "Hello?" Aerrow stepped inside. "So far, so good."

"Wow," whispered Piper, her yellow eyes darting from the white tile on the floor to the red wallpaper to the two matching chandeliers on the ceiling. "It's beautiful."

"I don't like it," muttered Stork, crossing his arms as he observed the stairways on either side of the huge entryway leading to a balcony overhead. At the top and bottom of either stair rail sat an old, half-burned candle.

"Well, I'm not scared," bragged Finn, strutting forward and looking in a tall vase set against the left wall. On either side were two doors, and just below either staircase there was a door also. "Just a couplea dead bugs is all." He flicked it and it tipped dangerously.

"Finn? What are you doing?" Piper raced over and righted the vase before it could shatter. Junko and Aerrow followed.

The carrier pilot walked off to the right, huge moon-yellow eyes fixed on the chandelier. His pointed right ear twitched, then swiveled. He spun around and stared at the door on the wall beside him. As he watched, it creaked slowly open. Junko squeaked and hid behind Piper.

A sparkle on the wall caught Mira's attention and she looked up. Her aqua gaze widened as it fell on the chandelier, swinging ever - so - slightly above the merb.

"Stork, look out!" She dove at the carrier pilot and knocked him to the ground just as the decorative lamp overhead gave a groan and ripped from the ceiling, crashing and shattering onto the floor where he had just been. He shoved her off and scrambled backward, eye twitching as he gave a raspy moan of horror. Junko and Finn yelled as rumbling cut through the silence. The floor shifted with the vibration, and suddenly the tile began to crack beneath Mira and Stork. Their mouths agape, they bolted as a huge, thin slat of metal broke through the floor and shot up to the ceiling, slicing the plaster with an immense _crunch_. The merb's eye twitched as he stared up at it.

"Stork! Mira!" Junko's voice was muffled as he shouted and hurtled over to the wall. The room shook as he banged his fists against it. "It's too strong to get through!"

"Stay calm," ordered Aerrow, and raised his voice so the two could hear him from the other side. "We'll find another way! Stay where you are!"

The lights went out.

Finn, Junko _and_ Piper yelled and grabbed for each other. Finn got Junko's right shoulder and Piper got his left before the wallop squeezed both of them in his grasp, squeaking in terror. They grunted as Aerrow looked around, unseeing, and gritted his teeth.

Eyes huge, the Reverian gasped for breath. "St-Stork, are you-"

"Don't touch me," he snapped as Mira's cold fingers grazed his arm. "We stay here until they find a way to us - _if_ we live that long."

"I _heard_ what Aerrow said," the girl responded, unable to keep irritation from edging her shaky voice. "And we _will_ live that long. A lot longer."

"We're as good as dead," the merb muttered back grimly. "Our probability of survival is slim to none."

"Be quiet," hissed Mira, now more stressed than hurt. And more angry. "I don't need your pessimism."

"Fine. But you'll be sorry when you're not prepared for your untimely demise."

"Split up," the sky knight instructed to the remainder of his squadron, crowded around him. "Junko, Piper, go upstairs. Finn, you're with Radarr and I."

"Split up?" exclaimed Junko in exasperation.

"Aerrow, that's the _worst_ thing we can do," agreed Piper in a high - pitched voice.

"No it isn't. We'll meet up here in half an hour. Mark the directions with something if you find a hallway or a vent so you can find your way back." Pulling his energy blades from their sheaths, he activated them both. With a zap the room came to life, glowing pale blue. "Here, Piper. Light a candle to take with you. I don't want to use up my only crystals."

Nodding, the dark - skinned navigator took one of the blades. Holding it out to illuminate the room, she spotted a long, dark - colored candle fastened to the top of the railing. As she looked at it, it flickered to life. She blinked in shock. As the group watched, the other candle at the top of the stairs and the two at the bottom began to glow, filling the room with shifting gold light. Junko scooted away from the steps.

"O…kay." Aerrow's eyes flicked around the room as Finn stepped behind Junko, trembling. Piper handed his blade back and he sheathed both. "Never … mind."

"Can we hurry?" squeaked Finn, enormous eyes glowing with candlelight. "Let's just get out of here."

"No." Finn stared at him helplessly. "Whatever you do, don't rush. This whole place could be booby - trapped."

"And we can't take it too seriously," Junko put in. "This is a sky knight haunted house. They probably figured they could make it a bigger challenge."

"Junko's right," agreed the leader, his expression softening slightly. "Don't take this too seriously. Try to have fun." Finn nodded furiously and Piper's frown changed to surprise.

"Aerrow, are you-" "Move out."

Piper stared after her leader, mouth still open.

The redhead started toward the back of the halved entry room, Radarr curled around his shoulders and Finn creeped warily after him. Piper's amber eyes brightened in realization and she turned to grasp the base of the candle on the left side of the steps, twisting it until it came off the post. "Finn!"

The sharpshooter whipped around and blinked. "Oh! Right." He hurried back over and she handed him the candle by its wooden base. She trotted back over to the other post and wiggled the other candle off of it.

"Just in case there aren't any elsewhere," she explained.

Another yellow reflection broke the dark surface of his pupils when she put it in his other hand. "Thanks."

"Just don't start any fires," she muttered back dryly. He took a second to scowl at her before returning to Aerrow, who took one of them and handed it to Radarr. "Let's go," said Piper to Junko. He nodded before following her up the stairs. Aerrow nodded to Finn before starting off in the opposite direction.

-xXxXx-

**M**ira looked around, aqua eyes wide in shock. Each of the sconces flickered dimly across the wide room, and atop each of the four posts on the stair rail a candle was also secured. She looked back at the huge wall before them, their reflections in it distorted blotches. A few feet of the tile was gone, giving way to blackness that could've been a meter deep or a mile deep. The girl swallowed and scooted numbly away from it.

"Um, who lit those?" Stork's eyes were huge and luminous in the dull light.

Stare fixed on the hole before her, Mira gasped, "I don't know, but we need to get out of this room."

"No!" As she got to her feet he grabbed her wrist. "We're staying right here."

"Not unless you _do_ wanna die," she retorted, pulling away and fixing him in a stare both angry and frightened; a combination that made her blue eyes blaze. He glared at her for a second before an ear-splitting crack made him scream and jump to his feet. He wheeled around and looked at the place where the floor gave way to darkness and jerked when half a tile snapped off. A sickly silence filled the air as the pair awaited a crash to indicate that it had hit the bottom.

A second passed.

Two.

Five.

The merb's breathing quickened and loudened. Another snapped and they jumped. A third and a fourth fell and the grout cracked between them, sending up a plume of dust. In a horridly long moment the chorus of slow pops escalated into a roar as the floor began to disappear beneath their feet. Stork bolted for the steps, Mira on his heels, and he scrambled onto the first stair as the rows of tile dropped away. The blonde stopped as the square next to her chipped and fell, and took a flying leap for the steps. Stork watched, wide - eyed, as she landed on the stairs and slid down, clawing at the carpet as the floor vanished below. Her long fingers gave a crack as they collided with the banister, and she gave a cry as she lashed out frantically and grabbed it. As her fingers slipped she gripped with the other hand and hoisted herself up, clinging to the first pole as the final row of tile separated and clattered against the wall upon descent. Two candles from the dropping table fell into the hole, one spattering out as its wax doused it. The other plummeted; the tiny light shrinking silently until it was too small to see. Gasping furiously as sweat dripped from her face, the girl gripped the next post and pulled herself onto the stairs.

"That was bad," whispered Stork, chest rising and falling rapidly as he looked into the bottomless pit.

"You-" Mira gagged, coughed, and took a quick, deep breath. She stared at the carrier pilot, eyes huge and dark beneath a mess of blonde hair. "You didn't help me. Why didn't-"

"It only would've ended in me getting killed too! Do you want us _both_ to die?" Her expression changed from confusion to horror as he finished, yellow eyes narrowing and his pale teeth glinting in the candlelight.

"What? Do you hate me? Why do you want me killed?"

"I don't hate you," he spat, "I just don't trust you!" The girl opened her mouth to argue but coughed instead, leaning back against the carpet and sucking in a deep breath. Her fingers were shaking from strain, still wrapped around the wooden post. For a long moment neither spoke, nothing but ragged, shallow breathing filling the air.

"I don't know what's going on here," the girl finally murmured, swallowing and closing her eyes before continuing. "But it isn't safe. Something's obviously wrong; probably some kind of trap. Who do you think-"

"Cyclonians," the merb interrupted suddenly. "And of course they'd all be too excited about it to see something was wrong. I should've said something, but who's going to believe me?"

As if in response, a huge groan filled the room, followed by an enormous _crack_. Mira leapt up, gripping the railing and looking around. "What was that?"

"Th-the-the-" Stork raised a shaking green finger and pointed behind her. Turning around, her eyes grew huge. A thick, jagged break zigzagged up the red wall, ripping the wallpaper and making a picture halfway up tilt sideways. "-the stairs."

With another crack the entire stretch of carpet and wood jolted downward. Stork and Mira shouted. There was another sickening pop as the wall again cracked, its twisted black fingers reaching toward the ceiling. The picture flew off, clattering down the steps and tumbling into the darkness.

"It's gonna go," murmured the merb weakly, his voice high and faint. "RUN!"

The room produced a third deafening creak as the steps began to break from the wall, tilting downward as the pair scrambled frantically up them. With another pop they swung downward, ripping the wallpaper and making it flutter away. Stork shouted in horror as Mira grabbed the banister, pulling herself up as she bared her teeth in wild fear. The merb looked at her for a split second before another jerk knocked him from the carpet, falling backward into the air. The blonde's mouth flew open in a silent scream as his yellow eyes glowed with terror and he plummeted down into the darkness.

"Stork." She gazed down into the sea of blackness below, hanging limply. "No…STORK!"

Suddenly a green hand flew out of the darkness and wrapped around the first post. With a grunt he yanked himself up, gasping, and lurched upward to grab the next one. His eyes were enormous and his face glistened with sweat as he blew a strand of hair from his face.

"Stork!" The girl's eyes lit up, her fingers loosening as she gave a little cry of relief. With another creak the stairwell dropped several feet, making both shout in terror. Mira dangled helplessly, knuckles white as her gaze flicked to the pit below. The merb wheezed with shock before grabbing the next post. He seemed almost amazed that his fingers had closed on it successfully, and hesitated a moment before commencing with climbing the railing like a ladder, both hurriedly and methodically. The blonde turned her gaze to her own pale hands, pursing her lips before wrenching her arm around and death-gripping the wooden pole the other way. She pushed her boot between two of the lower ones and twisted carefully around. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before beginning to climb slowly. Another groan sent heavy vibrations through the structure, breaking off and making more wallpaper rip. Stork began scrambling furiously towards the top of the steps and Mira, shakily, hastened as well. The carrier pilot didn't hesitate when he reached the balcony as the top, hoisting himself over the spikes of broken wood and threads of ripped carpet. The blonde grasped the top post until the veins stood out on her hands, stepping up until she had her hands on one pole and her feet on the one below it. Her gaze rested on the merb for a minute; seemingly wondering it he'd be a source of assistance. She let off an angry breath, half exhaling and half scoffing, and reached a hand out to grab the banister still intact along the top balcony beside her. When nothing catastrophic occurred, she put one boot on the marble floor, wrapped her other set of fingers around the banister, and dragged herself over the ledge. The stairwell was completely hanging, only its weight keeping it from swinging to and fro over the void beneath. A deafening screech made her wince and scoot back just as the wood holding steps to floor snapped free, the right side swinging down and taking a chunk of the wall with it. A board popped free, catapulting into the air, and with a crunch the stairs disconnected from the balcony and smashed into the darkness. Stork and Mira stared after it, both shaking with horror and shock.

It was completely gone.

Wordlessly, the pilot got to his hands and knees and crawled through the doorway.

Mira pushed herself up, fell back down, and scooted after him.

-xXxXx-

"**A**errow? Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" The sharpshooter darted after his leader, glancing apprehensively around as he entered the kitchen doorway.

"Come on," said Aerrow nonchalantly as Radarr lifted the candle and peered in an open cupboard. "What's gonna happen? Do you think the Dark Ace is hiding in a cookie jar?"

"No," the blonde responded hastily. "More like Ravess."

"You're scared of Ravess?" The redhead sniffed in amusement as he sauntered around the table. "Or just her music?"

"Uh- sure. That's it." Something scampered by him and he gasped, jumping back. When his feet hit the floor, something brushed the back of his neck, and he wheeled around to see a hairy, long-legged spider dangling before him. Screeching, he dove under the table.

"Finn! You're gonna blow your candle out."

"Oh." He blinked at the sputtering flame. "Sorry." The sky knight walked over to the row of cupboards lining the wall and yanked at the first one. It gave a screech as it opened and a puff of dust flew out in his face. Coughing, he waved the murky cloud away and squinted inside as Radarr held the candle up.

"A fake vulca-bat? That's not scary." He closed the door, then opened the next one and the one after it. Unimpressed, he squatted down and pulled the drawers open below the counter. Each one produced a puff of dust (and one a sneeze from Radarr.) When he got to the jointed door on the corner, it creaked deafeningly. When it opened and Aerrow had whacked the dust away, Radarr elongated his fluffy neck and held the candle out. He squeaked in surprise.

Instead of cobwebs and rubber arachnids, the furry co-pilot had illuminated a long, sloping corridor. He turned his attention to Aerrow, whose mouth was curving in an adventurous smile. Radarr gave a cheep of horror, shaking his head vigorously.

"Don't worry, buddy," the knight replied to his companion's obvious alarm. "We'll be fine." Without another word, he knelt down and squeezed himself into the tunnel. "Finn!"

The hyperventilating marksman jumped at his name, turning toward the sound and hurrying after the two.

"What's with all the dirt?" he complained, dropping to his knees and scuttling toward his leader. "Couldn't they have put down flooring or something?"

"This probably isn't even part of the house," mused the redhead as he glanced back at his friend. "Maybe a part of construction they forgot to close off."

"It isn't much fun," muttered the sniper, a hint of embarrassed reproach in his voice. "I wonder if the others are doing any better."

**T**he elaborate, cherry steps on the left side of the room were completely intact, not a trace of the nearby disaster evident on them. They groaned mildly as Junko plodded up after the navigator. "That's weird." Piper paused and shot him a questioning look. "I thought I heard something."

"What? A voice?"

"Mmm… more like a crash."

"I didn't hear anything," she muttered in response.

"I wonder if Stork and Mira are okay."

She blinked, stuck by his curious thought. "I'm sure they are. Since we don't know how far this wall went through, we'll have to follow it until we can get around it." The wallop smiled and nodded, assured by her loyalty to the usual routine. Her deep ebony skin was swallowed up by the darkness as she walked in the doorway at the top of the steps, and her voice echoed back out. "Junko?"

"Huh?"

"Candle, please."

"Oh. Right." Piper emerged and waited in the doorway as the wallop reached the top of the steps, eyeing the candle as if removing it from the banister would prove to be an insurmountable feat. He gripped the square, aluminum base and yanked.

_Snap_.

Piper cringed as the post and a portion of the railing splintered and disconnected. Junko gazed at the chunk of décor he'd maimed. "Oops."

"Junko!" He grinned, embarrassed, as the navigator shook her head, pressing her fingers to either side of her narrow nose. "_Just_ the candle."

"Sorry." He shrugged abashedly.

"Here. I'll do it." He lowered the post to her level as she eyed the jagged chunks of wood apprehensively. Reaching around them, she quickly and precisely unscrewed the base and lifted the pale candle off. "Hold this," she ordered gently before turning to the other one. As she loosened it, the wallop gazed, mesmerized, at the dancing flame between his hands.

"The light sure is pretty," he observed distantly.

"Yep," agreed Piper, concentrating on loosing the candle from its spot. She strode to the doorway, ushered for him to follow, and stepped inside.

The candle illuminated a large, elaborately decorated room that was centered around an ancient-looking bed with huge, ornately carved posts that stretched up to a lace - draped canopy. Dressers and dusty, small tables were scattered about against the walls, covered in doilies, photos, and relics from a time long forgotten.

"Wow," breathed the dark - skinned and dark - haired girl, amber eyes flicking across the bedroom. "It's beautiful."

"It's kinda creepy," Junko muttered, wrapping one large arm around himself while his candle shook as if it were seizing in the other. "I don't like old stuff."

"It's not old. It's just made to look that way." She ran two fingers over an torn picture, the dust light on the ebony digits.

"I still don't like it," he muttered childishly. His shaking abruptly stopped, his pupils dilating and his body stiffening. Turning his head slightly toward the distracted tactician, he opened his mouth. "P-P-Pi-Pi-Pipe-per?"

"What? Is something wrong?" Turning around, she blinked.

At the edge of the bed, just a few feet from Junko, a pale, tall object was taking shape. Mist wafted off of it, dispersing into the darkness as it grew defined. The blotted form became a torso, thin limbs, and a head that was tilted slightly back. Its eyes were dark; foam collected around the rims and filming at its lips. As it appeared it jerked forward and Junko shouted and leapt back.

Piper's eyes darted over to the table beside her, frantically weighing her options. There were pictures, a jewelry box, and an oil lamp. Junko squeaked, backing up, as the creature let out an inhuman hiss and flickered.

The navigator's fingers slid around the base of the lamp.

With a cry she leapt forward and swung her weapon at the figure. With a broken screech it flashed brightly, pluming like smoke where the prongs of the lamp had gone through its form. Suddenly the room went dark.

It was gone.

The wallop blinked before his eyes rolled back. He stumbled against the wall with an immense _thud_ before regaining his senses and looking frantically around. Piper's eyes were huge, her mouth wide in silent gasps for air. The lamp was still in her hand, but the dust on its designs had been replaced by a fine layer of warm condensation. With a small, horrified moan, the girl withdrew her hand, dropping the lamp and letting it crash apart as she wiped her hand shakily on her shirt.

"P…P-Piper, what was that? It was a ghost, wasn't it? Oh, I hate ghosts." Junko's voice was rising in pitch but fading in volume as he gripped the table with one hand and fought to keep his balance.

"It … it-it was just an illusion. It was a hologram. Ghosts aren't solid and th-they can't hurt you. It was just a hologram anyway."

The girl was shaking uncontrollably, but as she spoke her voice steadied. She flicked her head, her thick bangs whooshing out of her eyes, and rolled her shoulders to relax them. "Come on. If we see any more, just hit them with something and the image will disappear. Let's find Mira and Stork."

"D-d-do-do you think _they_ saw any ghosts?" The wallop's voice was tiny as he spoke.

"They're not ghosts!" she snapped, whipping around and fixing him in a wide glare of blind terror and rage. Catching herself, she softened her voice and quickly added, "They'll be fine. Let's go get them, okay?"

Confused and overwhelmed, he nodded vigorously before tiptoeing after her as she walked briskly toward a doorway along the left wall of the room, clenching her fists to keep them from shaking.

-xXxXx-

**T**he sky knight squinted, reaching out and feeling the rough ledge before him. "Hmm. Feels like a drop. Wanna check it out, Radarr?" The fluffy blue creature gave a shrug as if to say, _do I have a choice?_ He stretched forward on Aerrow's shoulder, making candlelight dance across the stalactites dripping from the surface of the opening. The floor was also visible; damp - looking stone and grit. "Think it's safe?"

Once again, the creature shrugged. He screeched as the knight hopped off the ledge, dropping for a long moment before hitting the floor lightly on seasoned, nimble feet. He twisted around and cupped a gloved hand to his mouth. "C'mon, Finn!"

"I AM," the blonde bellowed, clambering out to the end of the hole and landing with a shout on top of the redhead. "Ouch! Sorry!"

The sky knight answered with a wheeze as Radarr ran a tiny hand down his face in exasperation from a few feet away.

Righting himself, the sniper looked around. He then blinked in shock. "Hey! Where'd my - aww, man!" Beside him, his candle was smoking insipidly with its wick in a puddle. He glared at it as if it were responsible for all his problems. "Why does everything always happen to _me_?"

"Relax, Finn," Aerrow cut in. "Radarr still has one … but you can carry it if you really want to."

"Yes. Yes I do." He nodded once and thrust a hand at Radarr, who gaped at Finn before staring helplessly at the Sky Knight. His expression was one that silently exclaimed, _What are you thinking? You'll doom us all!_ Aerrow either didn't notice it or studiously ignored it, and with a frustrated growl the co-pilot handed the candle to the equally flustered blonde towering over him. Upon receiving it, he trained his blue gaze on the dark recesses of the cave.

"There are more tunnels," observed Aerrow alertly as he looked around the dim, sloping walls broken by several gaping mouths of shadow. Each droplet that fell from the jagged stalactites echoed and resonated uniquely, the sound bouncing off a million faces of stone for undeterminable distances.

"Should we try 'em until we find a way out?"

"Yeah."

"Well what do we do now? We only have this one candle-" He pointed at it as he referred to it. "-so we can't all just wonder off."

"Take turns, I guess." Aerrow shrugged as he said it. "I don't know, I'm not Piper."

"How do we decide who goes first?"

At his question, Aerrow and Radarr exchanged a glance.

Finally, with a shrug, the redhead muttered, "Rock - paper - scissors?"

Pebbles tumbled down in Finn's hair as he sat the candle down and scooted up to it. "Rock. Stupid rock. Of course they both pick paper the one time I-" The sniper came to an abrupt stop, his eyes wide as he stared up at the pale blue light.

At his name, the sky knight turned to the tunnel as Finn's head popped out over the candle. "Aerrow! There's light up ahead."

He exchanged a surprised glance with Radarr. "You think it's a way out?"

"Come on!" The marksman hopped out of the hole to let his leader investigate. The redhead picked his way across the slippery floor and took the candle from his friend.

"Radarr, you take the rear," he ordered before climbing into the tunnel. Finn scrambled after him, leaving Radarr glaring up before the opening. His tiny hands hung before him and his tail curled around him; one ear pointed and one drooping. With his ear erect, he stood a good foot and a half. The hole was about four.

On the first hop he hit and began scrabbling futilely halfway up the wall before landing, face first, on the ground.

On the second hop a flash of blue came just over the edge of the tunnel before the cave echoed with a thump. The tiny animal bared his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and catapulted himself up. His paws his the edge and he hauled himself up with a squeak of exertion. Radarr dragged himself over the drop just as the candlelight disappeared and plunged him into darkness. Dropping to his stomach, he gave a frustrated growl.

Something growled back.

Eyes huge, Radarr smashed himself against the dirt.

For a long moment, it was quiet.

Then there was a soft sound. Something like a _krck_. Then a deep, guttural rumble.

Radarr gulped.

The sound of something hard hitting stone echoed through the caverns. Slow, rhythmic taps moved through the open space behind Radarr; resembling footsteps.

The thing growled again.

Suddenly a faint scratching sounded on the little Storm Hawk's left, and the monster whipped around with a snarl. The claws scrabbled on the stone, splashed through water, and the muffled noises of something hurtling through a tunnel started.

Faded.

Disappeared.

For a long moment, Radarr sat completely still, eyes wide and heart pounding against the clay of the ground. Finally he lifted his head, pricking both ears up.

They were greeted with the distant chatter of Aerrow and Finn. Nothing else.

With a horrified cheep, he pelted toward their voices.

-xXxXx-

"**C**yclonians? You're sure?" She was pressed against the wall, her blue eyes huge in the dim light and her voice barely audible over the throbbing of her heart.

"Who else wants us dead?" he snapped back, eyes just as huge and a wild, pale yellow. "We walked straight into this and now we're all dead. And probably in ways more gruesome than even mindworms! If there even _is_ anything worse!"

"Stork!" The girl twisted until she faced him, grabbing his thin wrist as he breathed loudly. "Listen to me!"

"_Let go_," he hissed, venom in his voice. She loosened her grip and he snatched his arm back.

"Listen." She leaned forward, intense stare fixed on his contemptuous one. "You're scared. The only reason for fear is hope. Without hope, there would be no reason to fight for your life."

His moonlike eyes flicked between hers. He didn't answer.

"Without hope, fear doesn't exist. We need to find a way out of this place _now_. I can't do it without your help."

The merb looked at her, his disgust so palpable that the female could nearly smell it. She swallowed, the sound of saliva slipping down her throat the only thing to break the silence between them. The sweat glistened on her face as she gritted her teeth and opened her mouth.

"Why do you hate me?"

The carrier pilot's glare remained locked with hers.

"I don't hate you … I just don't trust you."

Her jaw was tight. "Why?"

"You're an outsider," he hissed slowly. "You aren't one of us."

"I'm not trying to be a Storm Hawk," she murmured, the edge gradually leaving her voice. "I just don't want to be the reason you all end up dead." He swallowed and watched her wordlessly. "So do you want to help me or not?"

A second passed before he responded. "The others are looking for us. If we can get to them first, they'll put themselves in a lot less danger searching. If we can find 'em, we might be able to avoid inevitable doom for a little while longer."

The blonde blinked. "Okay."

As soon as her stare flicked away, he shot up and paced away. She pushed herself to her feet, leaning against the wall and running the back of her hand across her forehead.

She stumbled after him.

-xXxXx-

"**A**re you sure this is safe, Piper?" The wallop tiptoed along behind the navigator as she peered cautiously into the next room from the balcony; candlelight flickering through her onyx hair and on her dark olive skin.

"Of course it is," she responded quickly; indignantly. "Even if spirits _were_ real, they're no more dense than air. They couldn't hurt you." She disappeared inside and Junko watched as the room lit up in small, gold pieces. "They're just holograms anyway."

"Well it sure didn't look like any kind of hologram I've ever seen," the mechanic muttered anxiously. "I sure hope Aerrow knows what he's doing. Piper? Piper?" He clomped after her into the ornately-decorated bedroom. When no one was visible, his gray eyes grew huge and he backed up a step. A flash of gold illuminated a small doorway to his left and with a squeak he raced inside. "Oh! There you are." The girl rolled her eyes and proceeded across the room. Her boots clicked loudly on the tile with her steps. It was a bathroom with a high ceiling, a long counter with a sink in it, and an old porcelain shower balanced above the floor on little decorative feet. The only window was boarded up from the outside. Cutting a perfect line through the grout was a sheet of dull metal. It had ripped through the wallpaper and cracked the ceiling, just as it had through the entry room. The faucet for the tub - piece of the shower was bent awkwardly out of the cracked porcelain and a constant stream of reddish, rusty water hissed blandly into the basin below. Her eyes flicked across the red streaks breaking the ice-white before she turned to the wall. Balling a fist, she knocked on it. The thuds it made were short and shallow.

"It sounds pretty thick," Junko observed as he took a step toward it. "No wonder I couldn't get through."

"You can tell all that from the _sound_ it makes?"

"Yep." The wallop smiled, but his eyes were innocent and modest. They then clouded with worry, and he put a finger to his mouth as he looked at his feet. He hesitated, and the only sound was the gurgle of the half - filled bathtub. "Piper, I'm only gonna ask this one more time 'cuz I'm prob'ly bugging you. 'Sides, I'm wrong a lot anyway. But are you _sure_ Aerrow was right about all this being safe? I mean, that ghost - thing looked pretty real…" He started at the floor, nervously awaiting an irritated answer.

"Junko?"

"Yeah, Piper?"

"Th-that spirit thing y-you mentioned-"

The wallop's eyes widened in realization as goosebumps rose on his arms and a pale light flickered on Piper's huge pupils. An eerie moan slipped through the air, ringing from behind Junko's right ear. He howled in terror and dove behind the navigator, cowering behind her as the pale mist before them began to swirl into a core, arms and legs. Only its eyes stayed black as it opened its mouth and brought fourth an angry hiss.

"Hold on," called Piper, her frightened squeak of a voice regaining its authoritative body as she straightened as she took a step forward. "I'm not scared of you. What harm can an illusion like _you_ bring to us?"

The creature's soulless eyes narrowed as it bared its airy teeth.

"Face it," she stated, her golden eyes solemn but fearless. "You're powerless."

Provoked, it let loose an vengeful howl that rattled through the outermost edges of the walls. It jerked forward, and the navigator's eyes widened as its spidery fingers weaved around her dark wrist. "No." It opened its mouth and growled aberrantly, and she screeched in horror. "LET GO!"

Noncompliant, it howled back in fury and jerked her sideways. Stumbling forward, she gasped as its skeletal thumb appeared on the left side of her neck and its fingers came around the right, and screamed as it gripped the back of her neck with its freezing fingers. It jolted forward again as she flailed her free arm, finding and clawing at its bony wrist. Her eyes widened more as she stared at what she'd bumped into: the full bathtub. It thrust her head downward at the water and she screeched in protest.

"NO! LET GO!"

It drew her head back before plunging it into the icy water.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath, and coughed out a few bubbles at its nails dug into her skin. Through the roar of the water she suddenly heard a shout, a howl, and she opened her eyes. Her arm and neck were free.

Shoving herself back, the navigator gasped for breath, falling back onto the floor. Junko stood over her, holding the shower curtain rod and trembling.

"Ju- Junko- you-" she sputtered and coughed, and sucked in air before coughing again.

"Piper, you okay?" His voice was steady, but he was shaking like a leaf. He dropped to his knees with a thud, hauling her onto his lap. "Piper! It's okay now! I got that - that thing!"

Her loud, frantic breaths slowing, she swallowed and inhaled. "Junko … thank you!"

"No problem. But Piper?"

Gracelessly hacking as water dripped from her wilted hair, she gagged out a "Yeah?"

"I think Aerrow was wrong about this."

-xXxXx-

**T**he Storm Hawk sharpshooter grinned as he scuttled through the tunnel, his leader not far behind. His electric blue eyes lit up as he pulled himself from the nearly vertical hole in the ground and landed nimbly on his feet. "Voila," he said smoothly, raising a hand before giving his eyes time to register the scenery. "Last stop-"

"Another … cave." Aerrow lifted himself from the opening, crestfallen.

"Oh." Finn blinked, hand falling to his side. "Aww man!"

"Hey. Is Radarr coming?"

Just as the sky knight asked, a furious scrambling preceded the furry blue creature as he rocketed from the hole and landed in Aerrow's face. Finn blinked as he gave a faint chirp and Aerrow pulled the distressed co-pilot from his face. "Radarr? What's wrong with you?"

In reply, the blue thing jabbed a stubby finger accusingly at the yawning mouth in the floor.

"Nothing's down there," he said with a smile. "Haunted houses are supposed to by creepy. Don't let it get to you." Radarr gaped in disbelief. "Okay, Finn. Let's do rock-paper-scissors."

Nodding, the marksman made a fist. The redhead followed, and his friend started counting. "One. Two. Three!"

Two of Finn's fingers were extended while Aerrow's hand was flat. "Scissors beat paper, Aerrow," said the blonde cheekily. "Looks like Radarr and I get to relax."

The blue creature blinked, mortified at the idea of staying behind with the sharpshooter. Tugging at Aerrow's collar, he cheeped pleadingly, pupils enormous.

"Relax, buddy," said the leader, handing the shaking bundle to the sharpshooter. Finn stared at Radarr, and Radarr stared back. "I'll be back."

Radarr's face depicted his doubt at the last statement. He gulped as his friend took the candle and disappeared into another narrow tunnel, throwing the cave into dripping, stagnant darkness.

The marksman's nasally voice echoed distantly into the cold air when he spoke. "Come on, Radarr. Don't be such a scaredy-cat. Nothin' bad's gonna happen, this is all a game."

Twisting around to face the blonde, Radarr gave an insistent screech of disagreement, his short, shallow breaths hot on the boy's face.

"Dude. Nothing. Is going. To happen." Finn enunciated his limited vocabulary calmly. "Aerrow'll be right back. There's nothing dangerous here."

In an act of sheer desperation, the little creature leapt onto the sharpshooter's head, scrambling furiously around on top of it.

"Hey! My hair!" Sloshes sounded across the cavern as he stumbled, swatting at his scalp's current resident. "What is _up_ with you?"

Suddenly a deep rumble rattled up through a hole somewhere near Finn's feet. He froze, eyes growing in the dark as Radarr grew rigid on his head. "Okay," the marksman whispered, "Maybe there is something dangerous here."

The scraping of claws on the dirt magnified as the thing climbed closer, and suddenly two great eyes opened before him, hollow and bright in the blackness.

Finn screamed.

-xXxXx-

**A**errow stopped crawling as the sound of Finn's ear-splitting screech rocketed through the tunnel. "Oh no," he hissed, twisting his neck to peer over his shoulder into the dimly-lit underpass. He jumped as a shower of pebbles and grit tumbled down the sloping stone ahead. Green eyes flicking frantically around, his stare rested on a small pocket in the dirt above him. Hooking his fingers around the edge of it, he heaved himself up.

The sky knight stared down at the ground below, squeezing into the tiny burrow. The candle still flickered dully below, making the stone and soil writhe luridly in its halfhearted light. Larger rocks began to skitter down through the tunnel as he watched, and suddenly a heavy, warm stench hit his nose. A low growl followed it, and as he stared, a huge paw appeared. Its black claws dug into the rock and shone brilliantly in the flame's light, and as it flexed it brought forth an enormous fanged creature. Its eyes glowed brilliantly and a string of drool swung from its jaw. Its coat was a rust color flecked with splotches of black.

"A trackbeast?"

The monster whipped around at his voice, and Aerrow jammed himself against the back of the burrow, holding his breath.

A second passed in silence. His heart began to thump painfully against his chest. As it exhaled, staring suspiciously at the candle, the tiny light flickered with its breath.

Then suddenly, with a snarl, the creature turned and stalked onward. Its great shadow blotted out the candlelight as it moved over it.

Letting out a breath, Aerrow's fists unclenched. He peered back down into the tunnel, listening intently. The scrabbling faded away into quiet.

The quiet was cut by another shriek from the sharpshooter.

The redhead gritted his teeth, sliding back onto the floor of the passageway. "I'm coming Finn."

Leaving the candle behind, he unsheathed an energy blade and activated it. The blinding blue light filled the air as he lurched toward the monster and his teammates.

-xXxXx-

**T**he merb's eyes shone brilliantly as he took a cautious step through a tall, arched doorway and into an empty corridor. "This place is probably crawling with Fanarian Carpet Ticks," he rasped as he looked around. The thin blonde walked quietly up behind him. He turned, eyes narrowing in disgust as the corners of his wide mouth pulled back in a grimace. He turned abruptly and stalked off.

Narrowing her eyes as well, the Reverian followed.

Spiders darted away as the door towering over them groaned open. Stork peered in nervously, ears high as he listened for any signs of impending destruction. After a few long moments, he walked inside.

The room was high and spacious, cobwebs dusting the edges in pale, floating fabric. The wooden floor creaked angrily beneath his feet, and the merb jumped. It seemed incomplete. Several feet in, the ancient wood was covered in gray tiles. A cracked mirror stared at him from the opposite wall, and an old bathtub sat in the corner, jagged edges contrasting sharply with the silver behind them.

The silver of the wall.

"This is where it went through," the blonde murmured, standing in the doorway behind him.

"There's no way through here," the carrier pilot muttered as his stare flickered across the edge of the shredded ceiling where it was sliced in two.

"Will we have to find another way around?"

The merb faced the girl, his head a few inches above hers. "Move."

Rage blazed in her pupils as the girl stared at him. Shoulders lifting and hands curling into fists, she leaned toward him. "No!"

"MOVE!" he shouted, bearing his teeth and stomping a foot in anger. Mira's eyes flashed down as his heel collided with the wood of the floor, and suddenly a line was visible in it. Her mouth opened as he looked down as well. The lines of the floorboards were no longer meeting to Stork's left and right. The girl leapt forward, her hands meeting with the creature's stomach as she shoved him backwards. He shouted as he fell back against the tile, and she stumbled forward onto the wood. With a crack a perfect square formed around her boots. She only had time to gasp before the trap door gave way, dropping her into darkness. She screamed as she fell, futilely clawing at the floor as she slid into the hole and her palms scraped the splintered edge. She closed her eyes as the shadow consumed her, the light of the room becoming a small shape above.

Suddenly she was jerked to a stop. She screamed as her shoulder cracked loudly, suddenly flaming.

Opening her eyes, she stared at the green fingers wrapped around her wrist. Stork stared down at her, hair falling in his eyes as he bared his teeth. He then grunted, screwing his eyes shut as he dragged her upward. As the light came closer, his other hand gripped her arm, and she clamped her other hand onto the edge of the hole. Pain jolted through her shoulder as the floor fell beneath her line of sight, the darkness below her. He heaved a final time, pulling her through the opening. Her body collided with his, and they collapsed, gasping for breath as spiders scampered away into the shadows.

"I-" the girl gasped again, blue eyes locked on his golden ones as they opened. "-I … why … why did-"

"Don't ask," he snapped quickly, head smacking against the tile as he blinked up at the ceiling. "Just be glad I did."

"I am," she said softly.

For a long moment the merb stared at the girl. Her heart was pounding against his stomach, and strings of her yellow hair fell in her face as she sat up. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the edges of his mouth curved. "Thanks for, uh-"

"It's okay," she muttered quickly. "Thank you too."

"Um, yeah."

A loud crash made the pair shout. Mira tumbled off of Stork, staring over the opening in the floor in the direction of the noise. The table across the hall had fallen over, and the lamp on it had shattered upon impact with the floor. Between the shards of glass, the dark hue of oil was running across the carpet and onto the bathroom floor. The sconces on either side of the table had been jarred as well, and one hung crookedly while the other had gone out and was smoking.

"Well," said the greener of the two, eyes half-lidded with relief, "that could've gone-"

The wallpaper gave a _rrrip_ and one of the fixtures disconnected from the wall, crashing onto the floor. The wick darkened.

Suddenly the carpet roared to life, flames leaping into the air and swiftly covering the fluid as it ran toward the pair, dripping into the hole in front of them.

"-worse."

With another crack the flames raced forward, causing the pair to scream and scramble to their feet as fire consumed the doorway.

-xXxXx-

**A**errow flew from the tunnel, rolling on the ground and landing on his feet. Finn and Radarr stared helplessly at him from where they hung from a stalactite on the roof of the cave. As he slid downward, the sharpshooter struggled back up, the furry blue creature screeching from atop his head. Beneath them circled four lithe, snarling creatures.

Zartacla's trackbeasts.

Pulling his other blade from its holster, it screamed to life, veins of electricity snapping off its tip.

"Aerrow! Little help here?"

"Hey! Over here!" The beasts turned their hungry stares to the knight as he smirked at them. "Sorry, but Storm Hawks aren't on the menu."

The largest of the four parted its jaws, snapping at the redhead. Radarr yowled in horror as it leapt at him and he slid into his fighting stance. Water splashed around its paws as it launched itself into the air, huge pupils empty as it descended on him. With a practiced slash of a blade, he sliced through its fur, knocking it to the ground. Another howled in rage and hurtled toward him. Its teeth glowed as it opened its mouth to snap at his outstretched arm. He slid to the side and raised his arm above its head, bringing the hilt of his blade against the back of its skull and sending it skidding into the wall.

"Aerrow!"

The third and fourth trackbeasts had turned on the intruder, saliva falling from their great teeth as they coiled, springing at him at the same time. Aerrow crouched below them and jumped forward, drawing his blades up. With a deafening zap, they collided with the undersides of the two monsters and dragged through them.

With two great thuds, the final two monsters smacked to the floor of the cave. Aerrow let out a sigh of relief straightened. As Finn shot him a thumbs-up, Radarr screeched. The blonde's eyes flicked up behind his sky knight, and his mouth fell open.

Behind Aerrow, one of the creatures had opened its eyes silently, its teeth glowing in the pale light.

"No! LOOK OUT!"

The sky knight's emerald eyes widened, and as he looked over his shoulder, the monster dove at him. He turned, outstretching an arm, and the back of his blade smashed against the creature's skull as its claws slid within an inch of his chest. The creature yelped as Aerrow's weapon collided with it, and it flew sideways, smacking against a stalactite. Sliding to the floor, it whimpered, claws uselessly raking the air. It finally scrabbled to its feet, wide eyes resting on Aerrow's green stare.

With a yelp, it raced into a hole in the stone beside it. Dust plumed out as it scampered away. Aerrow stared after it for a good thirty seconds, chest rising and falling as his blades screeched at his sides.

"Woo hoo!"

The knight turned to his sharpshooter, grinning like a maniac from his stalactite.

"You showed them!" Finn exclaimed as Radarr nodded enthusiastically. A snap made the marksman blink, and he looked back at the rock to find a crack running through it just above him. It broke and he screamed as he, Radarr, and the stalactite crashed to the floor. Aerrow smiled and shook his head as the sharpshooter groaned. Radarr stood up, took three steps toward his master, and fell flat on his face. The sky knight chuckled.

"Hey. What's that noise?"

Aerrow blinked as Finn sat up. "What noise?"

The trio peered down the hole leading to the house. A dull chorus of gurgles and whispers rose from it as they listened.

Finn stared at Aerrow. "Is that water?"

"Oh no." The redhead looked from his copilot to his sharpshooter. "We better get back inside the house before it fills up. We don't know if any of these lead outside. For all we know, they could all just be connecting tunnels dug by the trackbeasts."

Radarr chirped in fear as Finn gulped.

"Follow me."

The knight sheathed his blades, plunging the three into darkness. A splash sounded below as he landed in the water. With a click, Radarr hopped down the hole after his friend. With a worried groan, Finn slid down the hole as well.

Aerrow grunted as he landed in water, soaking through his boots and gloves immediately. Standing up, he unsheathed a blade to light the cave. Radarr plopped into the water behind him and stood up, soaked. The creature scowled. Suddenly Finn flew out of the hole screaming, and knocked Radarr back in.

"Guys, quit fooling around." The sky knight looked around. The cavern floor was under a foot of icy water, swirling with mud. It was roaring in through a gap opposite the three. He blinked and waded forward. "It's coming through the house, isn't it?"

"I hope everyone's okay," the marksman murmured behind his leader.

"Hoping isn't gonna cut it," the redhead muttered, turning and blinking at his friend. "Let's go find out."

"Through more water?" The blonde gaped as Aerrow headed toward the small waterfall. Radarr hopped through the water and weaved his way around the sky knight's waist up to his shoulders. Rolling his eyes with another annoyed groan, Finn sloshed after them.

-xXxXx-

"**G**et back!" Piper waded through the water, swatting the shower curtain rod as she backed up. Junko cowered behind her in the knee-deep water as the apparitions drew closer. "I don't know what you are or where you came from, but we're not giving up!"

The navigator swung the rod at one of the white creatures and it vanished in a puff of smoke. The creature beside it hissed in anger, black eyes narrowing as it lurched toward her. She grunted as it wrapped its bony hands around the end of the weapon.

"Let go," she demanded, straining against it as it pulled on the rod. With a howl it jerked the object from her hands, and with a shriek she fell into the water on her hands and knees.

"PIPER!" Junko stared in horror as the ghostlike things encroached. The one holding the shower rod lifted it as the girl stared up at it, gold eyes wide with horror. "NO!"

With a screech the creature vanished into thin air, revealing a boy standing behind it with blazing emerald eyes and ruby hair. The rod splashed into the water.

"Aerrow!" Piper and Junko cried at once, and the boy whirled on the monsters, swiping his blades in a half-circle around him and making several disappear in a plume of white smoke. Finn and Radarr cheered from the doorway as water raced out around their feet. The remaining three creatures snarled at him from where they hovered, their extended hands wisping like liquid nitrogen as they surrounded him. His eyes flashed from one to the next as they formed a circle around him, yet when he thrust his blade at one, it drew back and the others followed. The five watched the ghosts as they levitated above the water and moved toward each other, empty eyes still fixed on Aerrow.

"Wh-what's happening?" whispered Junko as the apparitions pressed into each other, their bodies seemingly resisting before overlapping in a plume of white air. Their gaping, foaming mouths, their gaunt necks, their waists and their ankles rippled as they met, thickening until their translucent skin became solid and bright. The tattered dresses elongated into a smooth robe and their ripped collars rose and stretched into a hood that overshadowed the bleak stare. Slowly the blackness became to spheres; those ringed in violet.

Everyone in the room recognized those eyes.

"Very good," the being uttered, the words smoking from its full, sneering lips in a voice that sent chills down Aerrow's spine.

"Cyclonis," the sky knight hissed.

"How are you enjoying your little vacation? It was well worth it, don't you think?"

"You did this," Piper spit, eyes blazing as she stared at her enemy.

"So I did," the cloaked girl murmured in amusement. "It was fun, wasn't it? But since you so stubbornly refuse to die, you've given me no choice. Prepare to meet Cyclonia's newest discovery." With a wicked, delighted laugh, the girl vanished in a swirl of cold air.

"Newest discovery?" The group turned at Finn's voice. His blue eyes were huge and his wet hair dripped down his face. "That doesn't sound good."

Piper and Junko shouted as the floor began to shake. The lights fell from the walls and the ceiling gave an immense snap as they stared up at it. A thunderous groan shook the room harder, and the bathtub screeched against the floor as it slid backwards. The five watched in sheer awe as the wall behind them separated from the house, the ceiling going with it as pipes spurted and wires popped. The thick metal wall slicing the house in half was pulled from the ground below, and Piper screamed as Stork and Mira appeared on the other side, cowering in the corner as the whole of the room was consumed by fire. Junko turned, gray eyes enormous, and grabbed them from across the gap, pulling them back as the far half of the bathroom gave way, flaming as it crumbled.

Piper screamed again.

As the back of the mansion was torn from its frames and the water poured from the floor, the cause of the destruction made itself known. A great, hooked appendage had pierced the wall at its center, and as it pulled it free and thrust it aside, it stared down at them through eight black, empty eyes. Thin, white fur covered its segmented body, and its head elongated into two pincers that were leathery and black on the ends. As it parted its jaws, thousands of teeth glinting in the firelight, it screeched a hollow, airy screech and arched the front two of its eight long legs toward them.

It was three times the Condor's size.

"RUN!"

Aerrow's order was obeyed immediately. Finn and Radarr shot out the doorway and toward the steps, Piper right behind them and Junko following, still gripping Stork in one arm and Mira in the other. Aerrow stood still, grinding his teeth as another screech made his ears burn with pain. The great spider lifted a leg high above the house - _higher than Atmosia,_ he thought - and the knight turned and barreled for the stairs just as it came crashing down where he stood, carving a deep hole of rubble into the lower levels of the building and into the ground.

The entrance to the house still stood, a bottomless cut halving it and extending across the right side. The doorframe was mangled and bent, and Radarr hopped on Finn's shoulders as he jumped through the opening onto the porch and sprinted through the yard. Piper came after him, and Junko smashed a hole in the wall beside it in his rush to leave. Aerrow followed behind them, changing direction as the monster crashed a leg onto the stairs and destroyed them to divert its attention from his squadron. Leaping over the fence, Finn stumbled to his skimmer while Piper jumped on her heliscooter. Junko deposited Mira on Piper's seat behind her and plopped Stork on the back of his own skimmer as he started it.

"Wait!" Piper stared back at Aerrow as he ran toward them, the enormous creature smashing another hole in the house behind.

"Go," he shouted. "I'll draw it off!"

"No!" Mira cried.

"We're not leaving you!" Finn agreed.

"NOW!" The knight screamed, the terra rocking as he monster drew closer. "That's an order!" Radarr pelted toward his friend, clambering up to his shoulders.

"Be careful," shouted Finn, and the redhead nodded. Jumping onto his skimmer, he shot north as his friends started east. Radarr jumped into the sidecar, pulling the lever on its side. The sides of the bike opened and its four wings extended, the wind buffeting the two as the tires locked into place beneath the chassis and ice-blue streaked out of the exhaust pipes.

The monster gave another hungry scream as its eight, blank eyes found the knight. The house crunched beneath its legs as it turned toward him. He gritted his teeth as he looked at the speedometer - the immensity of the thing made it hard to get above. Radarr cheeped as it started toward them, its legs smashing the ground thunderously as it moved. In two steps it stood where they had been only a second before.

"Come on," Aerrow urged, his fingers hovering above the clutch. It screamed deafeningly, piercingly, and it was right behind him. A huge leg smashed down on their left, imprinting a crater into the ground as the redhead grunted in frustration. "Radarr, I need some help here."

The blue copilot was already down inside the sidecar, digging through its contents. With a click, he emerged, holding out an orange, glowing stone. The knight nodded at his friend, pushing the button to open the fuel tank. He reached for the Velocity Crystal as the wind blasted against his ride, and a screech made his spine go to ice. With a crash, the skimmer rocked dangerously as another leg thrust into the ground beside him. Turning his eyes to his hand, he realized in horror that the crystal had been knocked from it. A blue flash shot across hit vision, and he realized that Radarr was hanging onto the edge of the sidecar with his tail, the stone in his tiny jaws.

"Radarr!" Holding the bike steady with one hand, he grasped Radarr's tail with the other. The little creature growled as the redhead squeezed his tail and hefted him back into his seat as the monster's leg crunched into the ground through the soupy fog below. The crystal rattled as it dropped into the fuel tank, and the needle on the speedometer twitched before they rocketed ahead, the air like blades carving into their skin and whipping Radarr's fur. A grin of wild excitement spread across the Storm Hawk's face, and he twisted around in his seat. "Havin' trouble, slowpoke?"

The spider parted its white jaws and brought forth a roar that shot into another high scream. It's huge eyes burned soullessly into the back of the skimmer, and it launched forward after them. Aerrow's smile turned to horror as it began to gain on them.

"Radarr, I need more speed," he shouted over the howl of the black wind. He turned frantically, eyes searching the darkness. "We have to be getting close. We _have_ to."

As the thunderous crashes loudened, the heavy darkness began to loosen its hold. Black grew to gray which began to fade into the dark navy of sunset as Radarr peered up from the sidecar and gave a raking cry of relief. The black of the dirt below stopped abruptly and the aqua of the sky shone underneath it. Aerrow grinned.

"And over the edge it-"

Suddenly the skimmer jolted to a stop. The redhead flew forward, chest colliding with the windshield as he coughed, winded. Radarr let out a soft, faint sound beside him, which seemed like the only thing he could hear, even over the cry of the engines as they struggled to-

A screech sliced through his thoughts as he coughed again, twisting around in his seat. His stomach lurched at what he saw.

Eight black holes stared at him over and around a great, pale lilac chasm of a mouth. Thousands of knifelike incisors shone from its gums, and its snowy fur rippled with the wind. Its two front legs bent hundreds of feet out on either side, then bent inward.

It was holding his skimmer before it.

Suddenly Aerrow and Radarr were jerked backward as it thrust them towards its jaws, a lurid bubbling sliding up from its depths. Shaking the darkness from his vision, Aerrow leapt onto his seat and drew his blades.

Darkness.

Radarr uncovered his eyes breathlessly. He blinked.

Before him was his sky knight, on one knee. His energy blades chirped at the ends of his extended arms. The tips of the white, furry legs dropped away from the skimmer.

The spider stared up at him, its half-amputated legs still outstretched.

The skimmer shot into the sky as the great monster screamed the loudest scream Radarr had ever heard. Thick, yellow liquid spurted from the tips of its legs, and it skittered its back legs in agony as it stared blindly up at them. It backed up, then darted forward, then flailed its immense limbs furiously as it fought the gravity pulling it over the edge of the terra.

It was deathly silent as the creature plummeted into the darkness.

-xXxXx-

**F**inn flopped off his skimmer and onto the floor of the hangar as the Condor lifted into the air. Junko had made it into the hallway, but had fallen on his backside halfway to the bridge. Piper and Mira got to the bridge, but had collapsed in the seats behind the helm, shaking feverishly as Stork cast them a concerned glance.

"Okay," gasped the sharpshooter, stumbling into the hall where the wallop sad. "No more haunted houses. Ever."

Junko blinked up at him for a moment. "Aerrow's gone."

"No he isn't," the blonde snorted indignantly. "He'll be fine."

"I'm scared," the strongman whispered, voice shaking faintly.

"He's _fine_," Finn snapped, and Junko cowered below him. The marksman roughly ran his arm under his nose and sniffed. "He has to be."

On the bridge, Mira shook furiously as Piper rubbed her shoulder. "It's okay," the dark-skinned girl murmured softly, although her ocher eyes were shimmery with unshed tears. Stork listened to the blonde give a little choked sob before regaining control of herself, and looked at the floor, ears drooping.

Suddenly a flash of light hit the corner of his vision. Glancing up, he blinked.

No, it was still there.

"Um, guys?" The pair of girls looked up, and Finn, who was helping Junko into the room, also blinked at him.

Wordlessly, the merb aimed an olive-colored finger at the wide window. A small, pale azure blue smudge was growing. It grew a shape in front of it, blue paint with red flecks. A red that didn't compete with the head of hair sitting above it.

"Aerrow!" Piper leapt to her feet, and Junko fell to the floor again, sobbing. Finn's boots clapped on the metal as he flew to the hangar. Mira smiled weakly.

When the sky knight landed his skimmer, he barely had time to shut it off before he was bombarded with hugs, praise and admonishment by four very relieved squad members. (Stork had to keep the ship in the air, of course.)

"Hey, buddy! Didja squash that thing?"

"Oh, Aerrow, I was so worried-"

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

"OH, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE!"

Radarr managed to wiggle from the melee, darting in sweeping jumps toward the bridge and fresh air. Catching sight of him, Mira carefully loosed herself from the web of arms and smiles and cheers and followed after him.

Upon reaching the bridge again, she smiled at the little blue copilot. He squeaked happily, and she knelt down as she'd seen Aerrow do to allow him access to her shoulders. He wrapped around her like a feather boa, nuzzling her fervently. She scratched behind his ears, blinking her aqua-gray eyes in delight. The sound of someone clearing their throat made her look up.

Stork had turned from the helm, rubbing one arm with his other hand. "Uh, thanks for that you did back there."

Looking down, then forcing herself to briefly meet his gaze, she smiled. "You're welcome."

Moonlight reflected off the Condor as it disappeared into the sky.


End file.
